The Conflict heptagon: Understanding local wind energy conflicts in Germany

Abstract

Germany’s political goal of becoming a decarbonized economy by mid-century can only be achieved by substantially increasing installation rates of on shore wind power plants. But the installation of wind power plants is getting more and more politicized in the German discourse. Wind energy conflicts are on the rise which slows down or in some cases even hampers project approvals and implementation. A relevant dilemma arises for the necessary energy transition. Social acceptance is becoming a strategically important issue that needs to be addressed by project developers. In this master thesis a conflict model will be developed and presented, that aims to provide an easy-to-use analysis tool that helps to holistically understand, get better prepared and potentially mitigate wind energy conflicts. Local wind energy conflicts will be described as conflict arenas, where (seen from a bird’s perspective) different groups of people are using different strategies and arguments to fight for their interests, power and beliefs. In total five archetypical groups within this conflict arena will be identified. A methodological and intellectual equidistance will be practiced towards the different positions of those groups to ensure a deeper and unbiased understanding of the conflict actors and dynamics. Within any local wind energy conflict arena in Germany there are up to seven different types of arguments that are being exchanged between stakeholders to fight for political influence and opinion leadership. Those seven argumentation patterns are being used and exchanged with the overall aim to influence the dynamics within the local conflict arena into the direction of one own’s beliefs and interest. Those seven argumentation patterns or conflict dimensions will be called the ’Local Wind Energy Conflict Heptagon’ and they are revolving around the following topics: 1. The democratic quality and transparency of project approval processes (‘Democratic Procedures’) 2. Considerations on profit sharing and investment offers for municipalities and members of the affected communities (‘Fair Share’) 3. Questions concerning impacts on human health (‘Health First’) 4. Ecological impacts of wind power plants (‘Ecological Responsibility’) 5. The level of trust between key stakeholders and community members (‘Trustful Relations’) 6. The aesthetical impacts on landscapes (‘Respect for Local Identities’) 7. The way broader questions on climate change and renewable energies are being discussed on local level (‘Debating Climate Change and Renewable Energies’). Not in every wind energy conflict all seven dimensions will be ‘activated’ and therefore will be influencing the conflict. It might be that only one or two dimensions really become important and decisive for the outcome of the conflict. But for project developers it is necessary to oversee and be prepared for all conflict dimensions. The success of a project implementation will (inter alia) depend on the anticipatory qualities of project management as well as strategic decision-making and positioning within this conflict arena. Being one step ahead of everyone else, can be a keyelement for a successful and friction-free project implementation.