Two Regions Where Tensions Are Developing in the Context of a Transition to Clean Energy

Since the late 1990s, the question of acceptance has become a major topic in research relating to wind energy in Europe, as evidenced by papers dedicated to Sweden (Carlman 1988), the Netherlands (Wolsink 2000), and France and Germany (Jobert, Laborgneb, and Mimlerb 2007). A number of authors contend that the NIMBY (‘not in my backyard’) reflex does not fully explain the perception of the proximate population (Musall and Kuik 2011), who are sometimes less hostile to wind farm projects than populations residing further away (Simon and Whstenhagen 2006). Other researchers argue in favour of a dynamic approach and refer to projects whose acceptance has developed according to a U-shaped pattern between the initial and final stages of the project (Wolsink 2006). Analysing three French and two German projects, Jobert, Laborgneb, and Mimlerb (2007) question the reasons for the success or failure of a project in terms of its acceptance. They argue that two classes of factors prevail: on one hand, the institutional framework (regulations, economic and financial stakes), and, on the other, local conditions (the site’s economic and geographical context, the implementation of concertation processes and planning processes).

In Germany, support for renewable energies has remained elevated despite increased energy prices since the Energiewende was implemented. Community acceptance may, however, differ from social acceptance. In spite of its role as a pioneer, Brandenburg is the German Land with the lowest rates of social acceptance (Figure 28.1). A 2014 survey indicated that 93 per cent of the population of the Land believed that it was important to promote renewable energies, but that only a little over 60 per cent of those questioned would accept a plant near their homes (Figure 28.1). No other Land had such a low figure. Citizen initiatives have been launched, such as Rettet Brandenburg, an umbrella organization that regrouped about 80 opposition movements throughout the Land in 2015.

In Aquitaine, conflicting views about competition for forest biomass have emerged since pulp-and-paper industries are determined to protect this resource against producers of biomass-based heat and energy. Forest covers around 30 per cent of metropolitan France, an area that has continuously

Figure 28.1. Responses to question ‘would you agree to a renewable energy facility in the vicinity?’ (%), 2013.

Source: Author’s illustration based on data from Renewable Energies Agency (2014).

expanded over the past 150 years. Only 60 per cent of the annual natural growth is harvested each year (CEMAGREF 2009).

Although French forestland appears to be statistically under-exploited, the actual quantity of wood is in fact uncertain and only provides a vague indication of the effective available wood resources. Various studies of this issue have been conducted, notably in 2009 (CEMAGREF 2009) and in 2014 (ADEME, IGN, and FCBA 2014). The first study highlights an availability of

• 28.3 million m³ IWEW (Industrial Wood and Energy Wood) per year and 8.1 m³ of wood residue. The second establishes the average yearly availability of wood in the years 2006-20 at 71 million m3/year, of which 46.1 million m3/ year are readily available, and 14.9 million m3/year of wood residue, of which
• 1.6 million m3/year are readily available. A report by the Ёсо1е Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees (2011) has, however, provided a lower estimate of this potential, explaining that an area of fewer than 4 hectares cannot really be considered readily available because management costs render it uneconomical. And finally, the IFN (2010) believes that difficult access to certain plots means that up to 30 per cent of French forests are unavailable to be harvested. The true potential of French forests is therefore unclear, and regional forecasts in Aquitaine, home to one of Europe’s largest cultivated forests, indicate that supply is proving inadequate in the face of anticipated demand (see Table 28.1).

In this context, ‘market acceptance’ appears critical, with competition between wood energy and other uses of forest resources gradually increasing.

Table 28.1. The ‘standard’ scenario for maritime pine in Aquitaine

Source: Author’s calculations based on data from ADEME, IGN, and FCBA (2014).