TY - JOUR
TI - Many ways to say ‘no’, different ways to say ‘yes’: Applying Q-Methodology to understand public acceptance of wind farm proposals
AU - Ellis, G
AU - Barry, J
AU - Robinson, C
T2 - Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
AB - This paper explores the nature of public acceptance of wind farms by investigating the discourses of support and objection to a proposed offshore scheme. It reviews research into opposition to wind farms, noting previous criticisms that this has tended to provide descriptive rather than explanatory insights and as a result, has not effectively informed the policy debate. One explanation is that much of this research has been conceived within an unreflective positivist research frame, which is inadequate in dealing with the subjectivity and value-basis of public acceptance of wind farm development. The paper takes a case study of an offshore wind farm proposal in Northern Ireland and applies Q-Methodology to identify the dominant discourses of support and objection. It is argued that this provides new insights into the nature of wind farm conflicts, points to a number of recommendations for policy, and functions as an example of how this methodology can act as a potential bridge between positivist and post-positivist approaches to policy analysis.
DA - 2007/01//
PY - 2007
VL - 50
IS - 4
SP - 517
EP - 551
UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09640560701402075
DO - 10.1080/09640560701402075
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Social & Economic Data
KW - Stakeholder Engagement
ER -