Abstract
Based on data from a large-scale survey (n=3400) conducted in Germany, we analyze citizens’ acceptance and protest intentions regarding the construction of new power plants for renewable energy production. We differentiate between wind energy, solar energy, and biomass energy; natural gas is used as a reference category. We measure protest intentions and acceptance regarding the construction of new power plants within a 10-kilometer radius of respondents’ place of residence. Protest and acceptance are explained by several competing theoretical determinants such as specific attitudes towards each energy source, general attitudes towards climate change, social norms, the “not-in-my-backyard” phenomenon, place attachment, and conditional cooperation. We use decomposition models used in labor market research to study endowment, discrimination, and characteristics effects related to different attitudinal dimensions and their influence on acceptance and protest intentions. Our results show more positive attitudes, less protest intentions, and a stronger acceptance of solar energy, followed by wind energy, biomass energy, and natural gas. Theory comparison reveals, for instance, that “not-in-my-backyard” beliefs have high explanatory power, climate change concern is only relevant for the acceptance of wind energy and solar energy, and place attachment seems to be a useful concept for explaining protest intentions. The decomposition models indicate that attitudes are strong determinants of acceptance and protest intentions where, in addition to endowment effects, we also find some indications of discrimination effects (i.e., different weights of attitudinal dimensions) and characteristics effects (i.e., effects of respondents’ characteristics). Finally, we discuss the policy implications of these results.