Examining the social acceptance of wind energy: Practical guidelines for onshore wind project development in France Peter Enevoldsen n , Benjamin K. Sovacool Center for Energy Technologies, Department of Business Technology and Development, Aarhus University, Denmark article info Article history: Received 4 December 2014 Received in revised form 4 June 2015 Accepted 4 August 2015 Keywords: Project Management Local acceptance Wind project development French wind energy Business development abstract This study investigates methods for increasing the local social acceptance of onshore wind projects in France. It is based on input from semi-structured research interviews and insight from a French wind energy company. That company had noted that a lack of local social acceptance of wind projects increased the risk of failures, cost escalation, and project delays. In this study, we first summarize recent scholarship concerning local social opposition and acceptance of wind energy through a selected lit- erature review and case studies of wind projects throughout Europe. We then use this data to create guidelines on how to increase the likelihood of social acceptance for onshore wind project development in France, and to inform current debates in the energy studies literature over the acceptance of wind energy and energy transitions. & 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 178 2. Methods ........................................................................................................... 179 3. Examining the key concepts of social acceptance .......................................................................... 179 3.1. Theorizing social aceptance...................................................................................... 179 3.2. Activies for achieving local acceptance of wind turbines .............................................................. 181 3.3. Wind energy in a french context ................................................................................. 181 4. Conclusions and policy implications ..................................................................................... 182 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... 183 References ............................................................................................................. 183 1. Introduction During the past 40 years, wind power has grown into a major international industry [1–3], having 670,000 people employed worldwide in 2011 [4] and roughly 225,000 wind turbines operating at the end of 2012 [5]. Furthermore in 2011, onshore wind power was the second-largest contributor to renewable electricity, after hydro- power, producing 434 TWh [5]. Calculations reveal that wind energy had turbine installations worth about $37 billion in 2008 [6]. The developments in the wind industry are furthermore expected to rise dramatically over the next decades [2] due to a global push to dec- arbonize energy systems [7]. The social acceptance of renewable electricity, however, remains under-explored and perhaps under- appreciated in the energy studies literature [7–9]. France reflects both the promise of wind power and this con- undrum of social acceptance. France have a history of harnessing wind energy, as in 1800, about 20,000 wind mills were operating. For the past decade the country has experienced a substantial growth in the wind industry [10,11]. There are currently 723 wind farms located in France [10], most of them in the northern and western region, most likely due to the higher wind speeds and flat terrain in these areas. The entire installed wind power capacity in Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.08.041 1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Correspondence to: Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Science, Department of Business Technology and Development, 7400 Herning, Denmark. E-mail address: peteren@hih.au.dk (P. Enevoldsen). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 53 (2016) 178–184