Wind Energy and Local Acceptance: How to Get Beyond the Nimby Effect

Wind energy is a proven technology that has the potential to partly replace the dominance of fossil fuels. However, the further development of wind energy poses many challenges. One significant obstacle is that wind energy projects increasingly confront local opposition, delaying and blocking its implementation. This article argues that an important instrument for overcoming local opposition is to give better and more targeted information to the local population and to provide incentives that involve them in wind projects financially or spur them to take part in the decision-making process. Such initiatives need to be accompanied by legal frameworks and coherent institutional structures that ensure a balancing of global and local concerns and interests.