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Onshore wind energy development is often delayed or even prevented by local resistance. Against this backdrop, we discuss financial participation as a measure to promote local acceptance by positively influencing the perceived experience of justice. Building on the concept of energy justice, this paper investigates the extent to which different forms of financial participation are suitable for better distributing costs and benefits, creating opportunities for participation, and examining who can participate financially. In addition to a comprehensive literature review, interviews were conducted with wind turbine planners and operators. These show that stakeholders engage in financial participation to different degrees across different projects and that the preferred form of participation varies from one region to another. Moreover, no model of financial participation appears to be suited to address all dimensions of energy justice, as all models are characterised by certain advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the availability of financial participation options alone is unlikely to increase local acceptance. Such options can, however, be effective when combined with other measures to increase acceptance.

The transformation of the energy system is a highly complex process involving many dimensions. Energy system models help to understand the process and to define either target systems or policy measures. Insights derived from the social sciences are not sufficiently represented in energy system models, but address crucial aspects of the transformation process. It is, therefore, necessary to develop approaches to integrate results from social science studies into energy system models. Hence, as a result of an interdisciplinary discourse among energy system modellers, social scientists, psychologists, economists and political scientists, this article explains which aspects should be considered in the models, how the respective results can be collected and which aspects of integration into energy system models are conceivable to provide an overview for other modellers. As a result of the discourse, five facets are examined: Investment behaviour (market acceptance), user behaviour, local acceptance, technology innovation and socio-political acceptance. Finally, an approach is presented that introduces a compound of energy system models (with a focus on the macro and micro-perspective) as well as submodels on technology genesis and socio-political acceptance, which serves to gain a more fundamental knowledge of the transformation process.

Citizen energy in general and renewable energy communities (RECs) in particular are becoming key vehicles for decentralisation, but also for the democratisation of the energy system. These initiatives are now more diverse than ever and are likely to continue to act as incubators for significant projects in the transition to a renewable energy system. Beside the legal, regulatory, and financial challenges, there are several socio-economic and regulatory barriers that hinder the implementation of community energy projects. For this reason, policy learning and the dissemination of good/best practices that are transferable also to other contexts are important. This is an aspect that has not yet attracted much investigation, and only a few studies have explored the importance of transfer activities for the implementation of REC initiatives and their motives. This article aimed to address this knowledge gap by focussing on the transfer processes of best practices initiated in a particular region and discusses how these can be adapted and transferred to other contexts. We analysed the transfer case of a community renewable energy initiative, the multifunctional energy gardens, from the Netherlands to the German federal State of Thuringia, and extracted lessons with an overall validity for the transferability of drivers and success factors. We show how examples from other contexts with similar enabling conditions can represent significant foundations on which to build an effective strategy and what framework conditions are necessary to enhance the uptake of pervasive community energy initiatives in regions with low community energy development.

Low-lying coasts in Europe share a long history of land reclamation enabled by flood defences, which radically transformed natural coastal processes and buffers. Traditional coastal adaptation, by raising dykes, is increasingly challenged due to environmental and sustainability issues in light of wetland loss and the climate crisis. Managed re-alignment (MR) departs from “hold the line” coastal defence approaches by encouraging the planned removal or relocation of coastal defence lines and the incorporation of softer, nature-based flood protection. MR implies substantial changes in landscape and land use and has significant local socio-environmental implications. Despite complex conceptual, technical, ecological, political and social challenges, this approach has received increased attention in northwest Europe as a key method towards the ecological restoration of coastal floodplains. In this article, we review: (1) how MR terminology varies according to disciplinary focus, public perception and regional preferences; (2) how emerging hybrid flood defence approaches contribute to restore foreshore environments; (3) how to engage local communities in co-designing MR projects while appropriately acknowledging, valuing and compensating impacts at community level. Finally, we draw lessons learnt from past experience and highlight critical questions at scientific, political and management levels. Managed re-alignment (MR) has been applied in Europe since the 1960s for coastal restoration. Restored areas nevertheless are far from compensating historical wetland losses. Hybrid designs foster a shift towards nature-based coastal adaptation and protection systems. MR supports rethinking spatial planning and advancing integrated coastal zone management. Local engagement is crucial for effective MR planning and better chances of successful outcomes.

In the three countries bordering the Upper Rhine (Germany, France, Switzerland), the biogas sector has received strong political support as part of national strategies to increase the share of renewable energies. Because of the decentralized nature of biogas production and its potential positive and negative impacts on local communities, acceptance by local residents is a necessary precondition for the successful construction and operation of biogas plants. The present paper investigates local acceptance based on a cross-national questionnaire study of 667 residents living near 11 biogas plants in the 3 national sub-regions of the Upper Rhine. Using descriptive methods in combination with multiple regression analysis, factors influencing local acceptance of biogas plants are investigated. Results show significant differences regarding both acceptance levels and influencing factors across the sub-regions. It is concluded that the political and cultural context in which renewable energy projects are embedded are important determinants for local acceptance. Based on the empirical results, recommendations are derived with respect to suitable strategies to positively influence local acceptance.

Background Wind power is a critical renewable energy technology in efforts to achieve the global climate targets. However, local impacts do occur, which demands careful consideration in planning and permitting. Sweden has set an ambition to triple land-based wind power by 2040, and municipalities play a key role in both the planning and permitting process, due to a planning monopoly and veto power in the permitting process. This calls for an investigation of Swedish wind power governance, with a particular focus on recent trends in municipal wind power planning, how wind power is balanced in relation to sustainability objectives in planning and permitting, and insights from practitioners regarding their capacities and drivers. Results The results show that about two-thirds of Swedish municipalities have conducted wind power planning in some form, but this basis for decision-making has become outdated due to a lack of institutional capacity at the municipal level. Secondly, the study finds that many municipalities perceive that there are insufficient incentives for a continued wind power expansion. Lastly, the study sheds light on a large heterogeneity within wind power planning practice concerning how trade-offs between wind power deployment and other sustainability aspects are handled, as well as a lack of coherence between planning and permitting. Conclusions It is concluded that the current state of municipal wind power planning raises questions regarding the legitimacy of municipal decision-making in terms of perceived justice among local inhabitants and highlights the need for updated wind power plans. Moreover, to promote local acceptance in the future, formalised financial compensation and strategic initiatives that enable the localisation of electricity-intensive industry within municipalities with large-scale wind power production can be two key components. The results also highlight the need for additional support at the municipal level, including access to critical competence and relevant knowledge to enable trade-offs between the different sustainability considerations in an informed and balanced manner. Finally, regional dialogue with key actors, such as the military, Sami representatives and grid operators, would facilitate the handling of inter-municipal issues, in particular by fostering co-operation regarding inter-municipal wind sites.

This article seeks to contribute to the knowledge of energy transitions in Europe by focusing on community perceptions in two European regions belonging to two divergent spatial models of energy transition on the continent. Through a series of questions, it addresses the social assessment of the impact of renewable energies in three main dimensions: environmental, landscape and socio-economic. The article is based on the comparison of two case studies, the province of Jaén (Spain) and the county of Somogy (Hungary). Both are characterised as rural inland regions with a similar level of renewable energy development (not very high) and fairly similar socio-economic characteristics (agrarian economy and ageing). The results show that there are no major differences between the two territories. In general, there is a tendency to assess the impact of renewable energies as negative, especially in the case of wind farms, with the exception of the positive assessment made by respondents when they were asked about local tourism. However, the option “No impact” was mainly selected by respondents when assessing the impact in most questions. Factors such as the lack of knowledge and information, the lack of social consideration in projects or even a lack of interest towards these topics could explain this social stance.

The present study incorporates a competitive context into an individual’s response to the construction of a power plant in his/her neighborhood and the determinants of this response. The study adopts an individual’s rank-ordered feature perceptions of competing energy sources to reflect the individual’s comparative perceptions of the sources regarding the features, and it investigates the effects of these perceptions on his/her choice of the most acceptable power plant in the area where he/she lives. Our mixed conditional logit analysis of nationwide survey data from South Korea demonstrated the following: among the rank-ordered feature perceptions, the perceptions regarding safety and eco-friendliness significantly predict an individual’s choice of the most acceptable power plant for his/her neighborhood, while those regarding affordability, contribution to economic development, and job creation do not. In addition, among those significant features, safety was found to be a stricter criterion than eco-friendliness. The selective significance of the feature perceptions and the differentiated criteria between the significant features provide practical implications for professionals in energy industries, as well as theoretical implications for researchers.

Der Windenergieausbau an Land wird durch Proteste vor Ortoft verzögert oder gar verhindert. Finanzielle Teilhabe wird in diesem Kontext als Maßnahme diskutiert, um lokale Akzeptanz zu fördern, indem sie das empfundene Gerechtigkeitserlebnis positiv beeinflusst. Aufbauend auf dem Konzept der Energiegerechtigkeit wird in diesem Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit verschiedene Formen der finanziellen Teilhabe geeignet sind, um Kosten und Nutzen besser zu verteilen, um Mitsprachemöglichkeiten zu schaffen und um zu prüfen, wer finanziell teilhaben kann. Neben einer umfassenden Literaturanalyse wurden dazu Interviews mit Planerinnen/Planern und Betreiberinnen/Betreibern von Windenergieanlagen geführt. Diese zeigen, dass finanzielle Teilhabe in verschiedenen Projekten unterschiedlich gut angenommen wird und die präferierte Form der Beteiligung regional unterschiedlich ist. Außerdem erscheint keine Form der finanziellen Beteiligung dafür geeignet, alle Dimensionen der Energiegerechtigkeit anzusprechen, wobei alle Formen unterschiedliche Vor- und Nachteile haben. Die Ergebnisse zeigen daher, dass finanzielle Beteiligung allein nicht in der Lage ist, lokale Akzeptanz zuerhöhen. Sie kann aber in einem Maßnahmenmix als Mittel zur Akzeptanzsteigerung effektiv sein. Onshore wind energy development is often delayed or even prevented by local resistance. Against this backdrop, we discuss financial participation as a measure to promote local acceptance by positively influencing the perceived experience of justice. Building on the concept of energy justice, this paper investigates the extent to which different forms of financial participation are suitable for better distributing costs and benefits, creating opportunities for participation, and examining who can participate financially. In addition to a comprehensive literature review, interviews were conducted with wind turbine planners and operators. These show that stakeholders engage in financial participation to different degrees across different projects and that the preferred form of participation varies from one region to another. Moreover, no model of financial participation appears to be suited to address all dimensions of energy justice, as all models are characterised by certain advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the availability of financial participation options alone is unlikely to increase local acceptance. Such options can, however, be effective when combined with other measures to increase acceptance.

Background Accurate detection of patients with minimal residual disease (MRD) after surgery for stage II colon cancer (CC) remains an urgent unmet clinical need to improve selection of patients who might benefit form adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT). Presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is indicative for MRD and has high predictive value for recurrent disease. The MEDOCC-CrEATE trial investigates how many stage II CC patients with detectable ctDNA after surgery will accept ACT and whether ACT reduces the risk of recurrence in these patients. Methods/design MEDOCC-CrEATE follows the ‘trial within cohorts’ (TwiCs) design. Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) are included in the Prospective Dutch ColoRectal Cancer cohort (PLCRC) and give informed consent for collection of clinical data, tissue and blood samples, and consent for future randomization. MEDOCC-CrEATE is a subcohort within PLCRC consisting of 1320 stage II CC patients without indication for ACT according to current guidelines, who are randomized 1:1 into an experimental and a control arm. In the experimental arm, post-surgery blood samples and tissue are analyzed for tissue-informed detection of plasma ctDNA, using the PGDx elio™ platform. Patients with detectable ctDNA will be offered ACT consisting of 8 cycles of capecitabine plus oxaliplatin while patients without detectable ctDNA and patients in the control group will standard follow-up according to guideline. The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients receiving ACT when ctDNA is detectable after resection. The main secondary outcome is 2-year recurrence rate (RR), but also includes 5-year RR, disease free survival, overall survival, time to recurrence, quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Data will be analyzed by intention to treat. Discussion The MEDOCC-CrEATE trial will provide insight into the willingness of stage II CC patients to be treated with ACT guided by ctDNA biomarker testing and whether ACT will prevent recurrences in a high-risk population. Use of the TwiCs design provides the opportunity to randomize patients before ctDNA measurement, avoiding ethical dilemmas of ctDNA status disclosure in the control group. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register: NL6281/NTR6455 . Registered 18 May 2017, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6281