Wind Turbines, Public Acceptance, and Electoral Outcomes

Umit, Resul; Schaffer, Lena Maria

Abstract

Despite a widespread public support for wind energy in general, wind turbine proposals attract a considerable amount of public opposition. At a time of political commitments to building more wind turbines for climate risk mitigation, we study the potential causes of this opposition and its electoral effects. Our analysis draws on a survey experiment in Switzerland, where the number of wind turbines will grow from a couple of dozens to many hundreds in the next three decades. We find that exposure to wind turbines increases public acceptance, but this affect does not translate into electoral turnout or vote choice. Moreover, locality or politicisation does not seem to have an effect at all—neither on acceptance nor on electoral outcomes. Our results suggest that voters do not reward or punish political parties for their positions on wind energy, even when turbines might soon be rising in their local area.

Citation

Umit, R., & Schaffer, L. M. (2022). Wind Turbines, Public Acceptance, and Electoral Outcomes. Swiss Political Science Review, 28(4), 712-727. https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12521

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 4, 2022
• Online Publication Date: May 17, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Deposit Date: Jul 25, 2024
• Journal: Swiss Political Science Review
• Electronic ISSN: 1662-6370
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 712-727
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12521
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2613277
• Additional Information: Available open access via https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12521