Public Acceptance of Joint Projects in Renewable Energies: A survey study in four countries

This report aims to: (1) Understand the perceived benefits and risks, including ethical issues, as well as the levels of acceptance and support for joint projects in renewable energy (concentrated solar power and wind energy projects) among the public in various EU countries; (2) Understand the motives for potential rejection of cooperation mechanisms; and (3) Explore the determinants of public acceptance and support for cooperation mechanisms. It examines public perceptions of two potential joint projects set up under the Renewable Energy Directive in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania. Key results of the study include: 

• The majority of participants agreed that there is a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase the share of renewable energy sources, and build a fully integrated internal energy market, in which energy flows freely between countries across the EU without any technical or regulatory barriers. However, the need to build a fully integrated energy market in the EU was perceived as a less relevant problem relative to reducing emissions and increasing the share of renewables, with respondents in Spain and Romania more concerned about an integrated energy market than those in Germany and the Netherlands.
• Closer cooperation in energy production in the EU was clearly favoured by respondents in Spain, Romania, and Germany and less favoured by the Netherlands.
• While awareness of joint projects was generally low, with the exception of Romania, participants generally perceived the potential impacts of implementing joint projects as positive. However, support was significantly higher among respondents in the potential host countries (Spain and Romania) as compared to respondents in the potential off-taker countries (Germany and The Netherlands). Participants in Spain and Romania, relative to participants in Germany and The Netherlands tended to perceive the joint projects as more personally relevant, to express higher levels of interest and optimism about the projects, to perceive the national consequences of these projects as more beneficial, and to report higher levels of acceptance and support for public investments in these projects. Participants in Germany, and especially in The Netherlands, tended to be more neutral in their evaluations of the proposed joint project.