ENDEITLVNOPLES

Project

INTRODUCTION TO WIN WIND

The overall objective of WinWind is to enhance the socially inclusive and environmentally sound market uptake of wind energy by increasing its social acceptance in 'wind energy scarce regions' (WESR) . The specific objectives are: screening, analysing, discussing, replicating, testing & disseminating feasible solutions for increasing social acceptance and thereby the uptake of wind energy. The project considers from a multidisciplinary perspective cases of WESR in Germany, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Norway and Poland. These selected countries represent a variety of realities ranging from large (but with WESR) to very scarce wind energy penetration. WinWind analyses regional and local communities´ specificities, socioeconomic, spatial & environmental characteristics and the reasons for slow market deployment in the selected target regions. In doing so all individual and collective rights of the indigenous people (Article 27. UN Human Rights Committee) will be taken into consideration. The operational tasks of the projects are taken up by national/regional desks consisting of the project partners, market actors and stakeholders in each participating country.

Best practices to overcome the identified obstacles are assessed and – where feasible – transferred. The project has a special focus on novel informal/voluntary procedural participation measures , direct and indirect financial participation measures & benefit sharing. Finally, policy lessons with validity across Europe are drawn and recommendations proposed.

The project started in October 2017 and is still in its initial phase. Under the coordination of the Freie Universität of Berlin - Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU) it will run for 30 months until March 2020.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

  1. Identify and assess the region-specific barriers and social acceptance problems in selected target regions constraining market deployment;
  2. Evaluate legal, institutional and political drivers and barriers for social acceptance and support at community, regional, national and European levels, with a special focus on procedural and financial community engagement;
  3. Develop a taxonomy of social acceptance barriers and drivers in the target regions;
  4. Assess and increase knowledge about social and environmental impact of wind energy including community benefits, taking into account regional specificities, socioeconomic, spatial and environ mental aspects;
  5. Identify and assess best practice policies and measures and novel governance mechanisms in the selected six countries and beyond, enhancing social acceptance, including effective procedural and financial community participation and engagement on national, regional and local level;
  6. Analyse the critical success factors of novel governance mechanisms of community engagement and assess the necessary conditions for their transfer and uptake in other contexts;
  7. Engage with national and regional stakeholders to transfer knowledge about social and environ- mental impact of wind energy and initiate a transfer of suitable measures and concepts within and between the partner countries and wind energy scarce target regions (“learning laboratories”);
  8. Develop guiding principles and criteria for fair (i.e. socially inclusive and environmentally sound) wind energy as an orientation for policy development taking in to account innovative bottom-up initiatives in selected Member States, accompanied by a strategy for implementation;
  9. Set up and engage in a dialogue between WinWind regional desks and EU stakeholders to assess how policy relevant initiatives at country level (e.g. fair wind labels) can be adapted to the EU level to accelerate social acceptance, community participation and citizens´ engagement in wind energy;
  10. Facilitate policy learning both within each partner country and target regions and among the countries and regions to contribute to optimise national and regional policy and planning frameworks to enhance good governance and improve community participation and engagement.

    IMPACT

    WinWind will contribute indirectly to increase the market share of wind energy in the future energy mix of WESR represented in the project and beyond, or at least to facilitate potential growth by enhancing social acceptance and support for wind energy.