First in a four-part series on results from a Berkley Lab-led effort to characterize and help explain attitudes toward local wind power projects in the US. Data were collected randomly from 1,705 homeowners living within five miles of 250 U.S. wind power projects across 24 states with a focus on individuals within close proximity of the turbines (e.g., < 1 mile) who often evade data collection because they are so few in number. These data represent the first nationwide survey of wind power project neighbors in the United States and the largest such survey conducted in the world to-date.
This first webinar will focus on results from an investigation of relative influences of correlates of attitudes across all 1704 respondents, with focus on pre- vs. post-construction differences.
The findings indicate an overall positive attitude toward the nearby turbines, including for those living even as close as ½ mile. Roughly only 8% of the population had negative attitudes within 5 miles. In an examination of a broad set of possible correlates to attitudes, it was found that neither demographic nor local wind project characteristics were significantly related. Attitudes were significantly correlated with compensation, sensory perceptions of the nearby turbines, planning process perceptions, and attitudes toward wind turbines in general. It was also found that individuals moving into the area after wind project construction were significantly more positive than those already in the community, implying that more supportive individuals might be self-selecting into the community.
Click here to view the presentation slides.
Future webinars will include:
- Wind Project Planning Process Fairness and Attitudes (February 13th)
- Predicting Audibility and Annoyance To Wind Project Sounds Using Modeled Sound (February 27th)
- Comparing Strongly Annoyed Individuals with Symptoms Near U.S. Turbines to those in Europe (March 13th)