TY - JOUR

T1 - Towards a cross-paradigmatic framework of the social acceptance of energy systems

AU - Upham, Paul

AU - Oltra, Christian

AU - Boso, Àlex

PY - 2015/7/1

Y1 - 2015/7/1

N2 - As the significance of public opinion and practice for energy system change has become more widely understood, an expanding body of work is investigating drivers of social and public acceptance of a wide diversity of energy technologies, both infrastructure and end-user applications. The literature is large and spans multiple contexts, methods, theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and paradigms. While this diversity is in many ways healthy, experience suggests that it can be confusing for those without close knowledge of its constituent parts. Here we set out a framework for thinking about energy technology 'acceptance' that is relatively neutral in normative and theoretical terms, while acknowledging that a full integration of perspectives and complete theoretical neutrality are not possible. We do not claim a comprehensive review base, but draw on our experience to illustrate the diversity of what we regard as the more influential perspectives in the literature.

AB - As the significance of public opinion and practice for energy system change has become more widely understood, an expanding body of work is investigating drivers of social and public acceptance of a wide diversity of energy technologies, both infrastructure and end-user applications. The literature is large and spans multiple contexts, methods, theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and paradigms. While this diversity is in many ways healthy, experience suggests that it can be confusing for those without close knowledge of its constituent parts. Here we set out a framework for thinking about energy technology 'acceptance' that is relatively neutral in normative and theoretical terms, while acknowledging that a full integration of perspectives and complete theoretical neutrality are not possible. We do not claim a comprehensive review base, but draw on our experience to illustrate the diversity of what we regard as the more influential perspectives in the literature.

KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication

KW - Public and social acceptance

KW - Public opinion

KW - Energy technology

KW - Energy infrastructure

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84930622806&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.erss.2015.05.003

DO - 10.1016/j.erss.2015.05.003

M3 - Scientific review articles

AN - SCOPUS:84930622806

VL - 8

SP - 100

EP - 112

JO - Energy Research and Social Science

JF - Energy Research and Social Science

SN - 2214-6296

ER -