Nina Schneider
Title
Dr.
Last Name
Schneider
First name
Nina
Email
nina.schneider@unisg.ch
Phone
+41 71 224 7841
7 results
Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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Item type:Publication, The (de-)construction of technology legitimacy: Contending storylines surrounding wind energy in Austria and SwitzerlandType:journal articleJournal:Technological Forecasting and Social ChangeVolume:198Scopus© Citations 17 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Dynamics of social acceptance of renewable energy: An introduction to the conceptA step change is needed in the deployment of renewable energy if the triple challenge of ensuring climate change mitigation, energy security, and energy affordability is to be met. Yet, social acceptance of infrastructure projects and policies remains a key concern. While there has been decades of fruitful research on the social acceptance of wind energy and other renewables, much of the extant research is cross-sectional in nature, failing to capture the important dynamic processes that can make or break renewable energy projects. This paper introduces a Special Issue of Energy Policy which focusses on the neglected topic of the dynamics of social acceptance of renewable energy, drawing on contributions made at an international research conference held in St. Gallen (Switzerland) in June 2022. In addition to introducing these papers and drawing out common themes, we also seek to offer some conceptual clarity on the issue of dynamics in social acceptance, taking into account the influence of time, power, and scale in shaping decision-making processes. We conclude by highlighting a number of avenues of potential future research.Type:journal articleJournal:Energy PolicyVolume:181Scopus© Citations 113 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The mayor said so? The impact of local political figures and social norms on local responses to wind energy projectsWind energy plays an important role in the energy transition. However, many wind energy projects result in conflicts at the local level. Mayors and local council members are key actors who can play a supportive, moderating, escalating, or mediating role in siting decisions about wind energy. Further, communities' social norms encapsulate their beliefs about what a wind energy project should be like. Alongside public expectations, these norms indicate the layers of cultural dynamics and standards of communities. Hence, this study investigates the dynamics of local responses to wind energy projects and their outcomes. This is achieved through an empirical-qualitative approach in which the experiences of four Bavarian case studies in Germany are illustrated using document analysis and in-depth interviews. The results of this study indicate that mayors play a crucial role in local responses to wind energy projects in Bavaria. Their support is necessary but not sufficient for local acceptance. Other stakeholders, next to project characteristics and communication, as well as external events, also have an impact on local responses over time. The paper concludes with lessons learned about communication and information strategies, as the study has implications for policymakers and practitioners in relation to designing and planning wind energy projects.Type:journal articleJournal:Energy PolicyVolume:176Scopus© Citations 41 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Mixed feelings on wind energy: Affective imagery and local concern driving
social acceptance in SwitzerlandType:journal articleJournal:Energy Research & Social ScienceVolume:70Scopus© Citations 77 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Mayor said so? The impact of local political figures and social norms on local responses to wind energy projects(2022-06-22) - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Dynamics of community acceptance : local responses to wind energy projectsTo mitigate climate change, a decarbonization of the electricity system is necessary. This requires a vast expansion of renewables such as wind energy and solar photovoltaics. Renewables are often outperforming fossil-fuel-based or nuclear alternatives in terms of levelized costs and they are supported by a variety of policies. However, to enable a successful transition, social acceptance is essential. This dissertation contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of local responses to wind energy projects by examining local responses within their institutional context, and by highlighting the interdependencies between different factors, such as key stakeholders, frames, and public discourse. The first study investigates in a comparative case-study design how the public discourse changed in Austria and Switzerland between 2010 and 2020. It shows how the public discourse reflects and influences the acceptance of wind energy by either legitimizing or delegitimizing the technology. It shows that low deployment rates in Switzerland can be related to the predominance of delegitimizing storylines in the Swiss discourse. The Austrian discourse is characterized by more consistent support for wind energy. The second study explores through a survey what positive and negative effects respondents associated with wind energy, and second, addressed respondents evaluations of the spatial scale these positive and negative effects occur. This study found that the negative implications of wind energy are perceived to be at the local level. While positive effects of wind energy are evaluated to occur more at the global scale. This difference in the associated spatial scale of positive and negative implications highlights that wind energy opponents, who already have a slight advantage due to certain cognitive heuristics (e.g., status-quo bias), use arguments that more effectively reach people. The third study analyzes how four wind energy projects in Bavaria were perceived by the local population, and how these responses changed over time. The study shows how various stakeholders such as mayors, local council members, and project developers influence local responses and highlights the importance of communication. Here, alongside the timing of project announcements, how, what, and by whom the project is communicated are found to play an essential role.Type:doctoral thesis