Challenges in the research of public acceptance of energy technologies, infrastructures and applications

Abstract

In the last three decades, a number of studies have investigated the societal and public reactions towards energy technologies, from nuclear to wind energy, CCS or fracking in multiple contexts (countries, regions, towns). Usually based on survey methodology and case study research, these studies have researched a variety of issues, from the general societal acceptance towards a new technology at the country level to the public attitudes towards a proposed infrastructure in a particular community or the adoption of a new energy application by the end-users. Although research has significantly contributed to understanding the factors influencing the social acceptance of technologies, there are still a number of definitional issues that need resolution before research can meaningfully contribute to the analysis of social and public acceptance. In order to contribute to this debate, we first review the concept of social acceptance and its role in technology implementation and adoption. Then, we provide a working definition of social acceptance, characterize the three levels at which it is usually considered (general, local and individual), as well as its basic components (public, political and stakeholder). Then, we focus on the concept of public acceptance; provide an operational definition of public acceptance and discuss the ways of measuring it via survey questionnaires. In a third section, we discuss some of the methodological challenges that, in our view, the research in this field faces.