Landscape disruption or just a lack of economic benefits? Exploring factors behind the negative perceptions of wind turbines.

0494388 - ÚGN 2019 RIV HU eng J - Journal Article
Frantál, Bohumil - Van der Horst, D. - Kunc, Josef - Jaňurová, M.
Landscape disruption or just a lack of economic benefits? Exploring factors behind the negative perceptions of wind turbines.
Journal of Landscape Ecology. Roč. 15, č. 2 (2017), s. 139-147. ISSN 1589-4673
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-04483S
Institutional support: RVO:68145535
Keywords : wind energy * perception * energy landscape
OECD category: Cultural and economic geography
http://real.mtak.hu/71349/1/08_Frantal_et_al.pdf

This paper provides new empirical evidence on the hypothesis that the perception of landscape disruption by wind turbines is a substantially subjective and relative matter. It is based on a survey involving nearly five hundred residents living in six different locations with operational wind turbines in the Czech Republic. Geographical and socioeconomic factors and sociodemographic characteristics that affect local community perceptions of landscape disruption are explored using correlations and a regression analysis model. The results suggest that the expressed perception of landscape disruption is not determined by the number of existing wind turbines, the proximity of residences to them and their visibility from the home but is significantly affected by the perception of the economic favourability of projects (benefits to local communities), perception of other negative impacts of wind turbines (particularly the noise annoyance) and the socio-cultural background of people (particularly the level of education).
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0287607