Peer-reviewed paper published: The influence of a co-designed prototype solar power plant on local acceptance
Recently, Merel Enserink together with Rudi van Etteger and Sven Stremke published their research on a co-designed solar power plant in the journal Solar Energy. The research relates to the work in the project In My Backyard Please and is part of the PhD research of Merel. In this paper they discuss the effects of using a full-scale prototype to increase local understanding of the impact of landscape change related to solar power plant development. They found that a prototype helped to break the status quo bias. Furthermore, the study shows that well-designed participatory processes can aid understanding and help provide local stakeholders with possibilities to affect outcomes. Such processes can contribute to the legitimacy of the development of solar power plants and, in this case, increase local support for the development.
We thank the contributors to the In My Backyard Please project: Kay Cesar, Marieke Rietbergen, Lianne Polinder, Floor Govers, Thijs Sepers, Ruben Peuchen, Ewald Antonissen
Abstract
The current approach to developing renewable energy projects often faces local opposition and has been said to increase injustice. One way of addressing procedural justice is to include local stakeholders in the design process. However, it can be difficult for lay audiences to understand the technical complexities of solar power plants. We built a full-scale prototype to support a participatory design process with local stakeholders and used engaged action research to examine the influence of this prototype on local acceptance in one real-life case in The Netherlands. The prototype helped to break the status quo bias. Furthermore, the study shows that well-designed participatory processes can aid understanding and help provide local stakeholders with possibilities to affect outcomes. Such processes can contribute to the legitimacy of the development of solar power plants and, in this case, increase local support for the development.
Reference: Enserink, M., Van Etteger, R., & Stremke, S. (2023). Seeing is believing, experiencing is knowing: The influence of a co-designed prototype solar power plant on local acceptance. Solar Energy, 262, 111739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.05.016
You can access the paper here (open access).
