Social acceptance of wind energy development and planning in rural communities of Australia: A consumer analysis Clare D'Souza a,n , Emmanuel K. Yiridoe b,1 a Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, La Trobe University, Plenty Road, Bundoora 3083, Australia b Department of Business and Social Sciences, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS, Canada B2N 5E3 article info Article history: Received 20 April 2014 Received in revised form 18 July 2014 Accepted 25 August 2014 Available online 20 September 2014 Keywords: Wind energy Stakeholder consultation Social acceptance Rural development abstract Social acceptance is necessary for widespread adoption of new renewable energy technologies. A lack of social acceptance by local community residents is a barrier to increasing the renewable energy mix and targets in Australia. This study empirically evaluated predictor importance of key constructs of social acceptance, using responses from a sample of 226 survey respondents in Australia. Regression analysis suggest that ‘Concerns with wind turbines’ was the predictor most strongly correlated with Social Acceptance, followed by ‘Annoyance with wind turbines’, and then ‘Consultation with stakeholders’. Implications of the study and recommendations for consideration by various interest groups (such as policy makers, and potential entrepreneurs) are discussed. This research contributes to theory building rather than theory testing of social acceptance of wind energy development. & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Renewable energy from wind technology has potential for addressing GHG emissions because Australia has some of the world's best wind resources (Verve Energy, 2013). Estimates for year 2020 suggests that wind energy is likely to provide up to five times as much power than, say, biomass (Hatfield-Dodds et al., 2007). Although wind energy has potential to strengthen the renewable energy mix for Australia, social acceptance of wind power development has become a contentious issue, with heigh- tened concerns from local community residents and environmen- tal activists (Lantz and Flowers, 2010; Bond, 2008; Bosley and Bosley, 1988; Dimitropoulosa and Kontoleonba, 2009). The United Nations report on sustainability which provides guidelines for sustainability does not provide an archetype for specific actions (Willums, 1998). Thus, addressing (environmental) sustainability through renewable energy development has become the subject of enquiry for several stakeholders. Social acceptance is important for more widespread adoption and planning of new technologies (Sauter and Watson, 2007). Consumer acceptability on the other hand, often acts as an impediment towards renewable energy (Devine-Wright, 2005); this in fact can cause substantial planning impediments. Some analysts view social acceptance as the most significant threat to achieving government renewable energy targets (Strachan and Lal, 2004). Complications with social acceptance of wind power development and planning are particularly important for rural regions where governments are often faced with challenges in targeting community economic development and growth initia- tives, which also tend to be prime locations for wind farms (Yiridoe et al., 2009). The controversy surrounding social issues with regard to wind energy has certainly assumed significance on an international scale initiating several countries to impose mandatory regulations. Much of this controversy appears to emerge from an arbitrary and adhoc manner by which wind farms are established. These issues appear to go well beyond the immediate horizon of planning and provide significant challenges for the viability of wind energy development. As critical as this situation has become, a cursory understanding of what drives social acceptance of wind energy development will shed further light on this important area. Thus, in this exploratory study, we develop a conceptual model of key predictors or constructs of social acceptance of wind power development, and empirically test the model to evaluate predictor importance of the social acceptance elements. The applied research question addressed in this study relates to: what char- acteristics of wind energy are important predictors of social acceptance for wind energy development? Addressing this ques- tion will contribute to a better understanding of important issues associated with improving consumer confidence and acceptance of wind power technologies and wind energy development. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol Energy Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.08.035 0301-4215/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 3 9479 1232; fax: þ61 3 9479 5971. E-mail addresses: cdsouza@latrobe.edu.au (C. D'Souza), eyiridoe@dal.ca (E.K. Yiridoe). 1 Tel.: þ1 902 893 6699. Energy Policy 74 (2014) 262–270