ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the results of a survey of four cases of proposed wind farms are presented. The proposals in two cases include a community co-operative scheme and the other two are for commercial schemes. Two of the proposed wind farms sites are located in relatively affluent areas and two in deprived areas. Non-parametric correlation tests and ordinal and binomial logistic regression analyses were carried out on the data; these showed that perceived costs and benefits are highly correlated with opinion about the proposed wind farm at a high significance level. Furthermore, specific perceived costs—such as concerns about a potential negative health effect and the visual impact of the wind farm—stand out within the main variables that influenced opinion about the proposed with farms. Trust also appears to be one of the key variables influencing both opinion about the wind farm and opinion about the co-operative scheme. Opinion about the co-operative is also strongly influenced by beliefs about whether or not the co-operative’s revenue will benefit the local community, and whether it will offer some compensation to local residents for the wind farm development.
