Not in my backyard, but not far away from me: Local acceptance of wind power in China

Highlights

• We find the characteristics of local acceptance of wind energy in China based on the evidence from Jiuquan city.

• We characterize the local acceptance of wind power in China as “not in my backyard, but not far away from me”.

• The perceived economic benefits and the perceived environmental costs are the two most significant factors.

• The public receives most of information about wind power from various governmental agencies.

Abstract

Local acceptance of wind energy technology has become an important factor to consider when designing local and national wind energy technological innovation policies. Previous studies have investigated the factors that shape the local acceptance of wind power in high-income countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, these factors had not been investigated in China. Utilizing a survey and quantitative analysis, we have identified the factors that are correlated with local acceptance of wind power in China. We conducted our study in the city of Jiuquan, Gansu Province, which currently possesses the largest installed capacity for wind power generation in China. Two factors, namely, perceived economic benefits and perceived environmental costs, influence local acceptance of wind power in China most significantly. Local acceptance of wind power in China can be described as “not in my backyard, but not far away from me”. In other words, the acceptance rate is lowest when the source of wind power is located in their village or community, highest when the project is located in their county and city and decreases for projects that are constructed further away.

Introduction

In 2010, China surpassed the United States to become the leading global energy consumer [1]. China's demand for energy continues to grow and, based on the International Energy Agency's energy demand scenarios, is expected to account for one-quarter of global energy consumption by 2035 [1]. According to the 12th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, by 2015, China plans to produce 9.5% of its total energy consumption from renewable energy sources (an increase from 8.2% in 2012 and 5.7% since 2005). Based on a 2012 report produced by the Chinese Wind Energy Association, wind energy has surpassed nuclear power as the third largest energy source in China. The Chinese wind power industry dates to the end of the 1970s but the industry has grown dramatically since 2003 [2]. Between 2006 and 2010, China's installed wind capacity has grown at an annual rate exceeding 100% each year [3]. In 2010, China became the country with the largest installed wind capacity worldwide, with 41.8 GW [3]. According to the 12th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, the Chinese government aims to build nine 10 GW wind power bases (including onshore and offshore projects), which will form the basis of government commitment to wind power [4]. Although wind energy is considered low-carbon energy technology, previous research also indicates that wind power projects are unappealing to the local populace if they are built in their neighborhoods because they produce noise and represent unattractive alterations to the landscape [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10]. Wind energy is considered an unacceptable energy option in parts Europe and the United States because of these negative impacts. This phenomenon has been widely studied in the United States, Germany, Spain, Denmark, France, Italy, and Sweden, which are all locations where social acceptance is a key factor in wind energy development [7], [11], [12], [13] and negative public perception has contributed to delayed and canceled projects [14].

As wind power development has increased in China, an increasing number of incidents indicate public concern over the expansion of wind power [15], [16], [17]. In 2011, 370 people in Chifeng, which is located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, complained that the newly built wind power farms caused a drought that damaged grassland ecology [18]. In 2007, scholars in Jiangsu Province blamed wind power projects for bird deaths [16]. People who lived near the wind power project in Shandong Province complained that the wind turbines were too noisy [17]. Although there have been many public complaints about wind power projects in China, state and provincial governments have rarely taken action to address them. Furthermore, there is no system in place to include public input during the wind power plant planning and siting processes. While the central government is interested in the smooth development of the wind sector, their approach towards considering public opinion in the decision-making process is inconsistent across energy and industrial projects. The Chinese central government has worked to address public concerns about the environmental problems produced by P-Xylene industrial plants, but the government has not acted to address public concerns about wind development perhaps because it is a newer industry for which public concerns have only recently been voiced.¹ By identifying the factors affecting local acceptance of wind power and which sources of information are perceived as authoritative, this paper can help the Chinese government contribute to social stability and a smoother, less controversial execution of its energy plans.

Wolsink [9], [19], [20] and other scholars have argued that many factors affect public resistance of wind projects. We classify these factors into three categories: public attitudes toward environmental issues, perceived interests, and general attitude toward wind energy.

Previous studies have noted that economic benefits [21], [22], [23] and environmental costs shape the local acceptance of wind energy [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10]. According to a National Wind Coordinating Committee research report, the deployment of wind power in China provides direct economic benefits for localities, including increasing incomes for local government and landowners, increasing employment opportunities, and increasing demand for local commodities and services during project construction and operation [23]. Jobert et al. [21] argued that economic incentives are important factors affecting community acceptance of wind power in Denmark. Previous research observes that the main reasons for local opposition to the construction of wind farms in high-income countries are noise and visual intrusion [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [24]. Previous studies have also pointed out the health costs imposed by wind power on the local public (e.g., Pedersen and Persson Waye, 2007; Knopper and Ollson, 2011). Pedersen and Persson (2007) estimated that, at a wind speed of 8 m/s, sound power levels of modern wind turbines ranged from 98 to 104 db(A) [46]. Knopper and Ollson (2011) concluded that at sound pressure levels greater than 40 db(A) local residents were experiencing discomfort [47]. However, to date there is no consensus on the exact relationship between the noise and physiological health effects. Bell et al. [25] argue that perceptions of high local environmental costs produce the “social gap” between the high and stable levels of public support for renewable energy generally and the low success rate of planning applications for wind power developments. The findings mentioned above mainly originated from the empirical study on onshore wind power. It is also noted that Synder and Kaiser compared the benefits and cost between onshore wind power and offshore wind power and pointed out that offshore wind power shares all of the same benefits of onshore wind power relative to conventional power sources, such as creating jobs and so on. However, aside from the negative impact of noise, increasing birds' deaths and visual impact, offshore wind power have the cost and risk of harming marine mammals fishers and navigation as well [48].

Wind energy development is driven by the desire to rely upon more sustainable energy sources. The relationship between public attitudes toward environmental issues and renewable energy development has proven to be somewhat complex [26]. “On the one hand, support for renewable energy policies is led by a desire to reduce the human impact on the environment by endorsing energy conservation and renewable energy technologies. On the other hand, people concerned about the human impact on the environment, worry about the consequences that renewable energy technologies might have on the local flora and fauna” [27]. Previous studies indicate that the local acceptance of wind energy is directly related to public attitudes toward environmental issues, such as climate change, and feelings of personal responsibility to address such problems [26], [28], [29], [30]. For example, Swofford and Slattery [30] link wind energy attitudes to local environmental values. Their study indicated that people who are more concerned about climate change and environmental issues are more likely express positive attitudes toward wind energy [30].

The general attitude of the public toward wind power is another key factor influencing local acceptance of wind energy [31], [32]. Wolsink [25] proposed that public attitudes toward wind power are fundamentally different from attitudes toward wind power projects [33]. Bell et al. [25] note that an “individual gap” exists when a person has a positive attitude toward wind power in general but actively opposes a particular wind power project. (In this view, the “individual gap” is different from the “social gap” that describes the social phenomenon). However, other studies observe that general attitudes toward wind power influence the acceptance of wind power—that is, people who have a more positive attitude toward wind power are more likely to accept specific wind projects [31], [32].

The NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) phenomenon has been utilized to describe and explain opposition to wind power by many authors [6], [34]. Some researchers utilize NIMBYism to explain general support for renewable energy development and opposition to specific projects because of perceived noise and visual impacts in the UK, Denmark, and Ireland [6], [33]. However, other scholars argue that NIMBYism cannot explain local acceptance of either renewable energy generally or wind energy specifically. These claims are centered on two criticisms. First, criticism of the proximity hypothesis, which expects that those who live closest to a wind farm have the most negative attitude toward it, argues that this hypothesis cannot be tested empirically. Some scholars have even argued that public attitudes toward wind energy are not related to distance [35], [36]. Vander Loo [36] coined the term PIMBY (Please in My Back Yard) to refer to instances in which wind turbines are viewed positively as a source of income. Other scholars have observed that individuals living closest to renewable energy projects tend to have more positive attitudes than those living further away [8]. Second, scholars claim that NIMBYism oversimplifies attitudes toward wind power [37], [38]. NIMBYism is grounded in a rational actor model of individuals, which assumes that human behavior is based on selfishness, ignorance or a narrowly conceived view of the world [37], [38]. Opponents argue that local acceptance of wind power is motivated not only by rational choice or selfishness [37], [38], [25] but also by values, environmental beliefs, institutions, and other contextual, social and psychological factors [37], [39], [40].

Environmental justice has also been used to explain the social acceptance of renewable energy [7], [39], [41], [42], [43]. In practice, environmental justice refers to a socio-political movement focusing on the fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens that originated in the United States during the early 1980s. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” Environmental justice is not only concerned with the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens among the members of a society or community but also with procedural justice by emphasizing the fairness and processes by which decisions are made [7], [39], [44]. Some scholars have noted that environmental justice problems may arise during the development of renewable energy projects and have examined the relationship between renewable energy development and environmental justice [39], [41], [43]. For example, Outka [41] argues that environmental justice not only focuses on the site decision of renewable energy but also influences the definition of renewable and clean energy in laws. Procedural justice has been studied as an important issue in the development of wind energy in Australia and Germany; studies indicate that processes that are more inclusive can contribute to increased social acceptance [39], [43].

Based on this previous research, we integrate both interest variables, such as perceived costs and benefits, and belief variables, such as general attitudes toward environmental issues and wind energy into the analysis (Fig. 1). One key result is the identification of the distance from the farm at which perceived economic benefits begin to compensate for perceived costs.

Both research addressing the role of social acceptance in the deployment of wind power in high-income OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and news reports of public concern about the perceived negative impacts of wind energy in China point to the importance of considering social, political, and cultural views as well as technological and economic factors when developing renewable energy plans. With an increased number of wind power projects being planned and built, the public is beginning to experience the benefits and costs of wind power development in China. The social acceptance of wind energy may shape future wind energy development in China although the Chinese government has historically experienced less difficulty implementing infrastructure projects than other governments have.

The social acceptance of renewable energy technologies has affected the evolution of wind deployment in industrialized countries and has emerged as a possible factor in shaping the industry's future in China; however, the authors are not aware of any studies that investigate social acceptance issues in China or the driving forces of these issues. Our research investigates the local acceptance of wind power projects at the village, county, city, province and national levels. Our goal is to answer the following questions through quantitative analysis: What are the characteristics of local acceptance of wind power in China? and What factors affect local acceptance of wind power in China? In Section 2, we introduce the survey methodology and geographic area of focus. In Section 3, we present the results of the survey. In Section 4, we compare our findings with those of previous studies. Finally, in Section 5, we conclude and describe some policy implications. Based on the literature review and research questions, we include interest variables, such as perceived costs and benefits, and belief variables, such as general attitudes toward environmental issues and wind energy in the analysis (Fig. 1).