Wind4Bio – Increasing the Social Acceptance of Wind Energy

Project

Wind4Bio aspires to facilitate the transition to renewable energy sources by addressing one of the main barriers to the proliferation of wind energy: local opposition on the grounds of biodiversity concerns and inadequate transparency in permitting procedures. The project develops a multi-perspective approach to harmonise biodiversity and wind energy policies in the participating countries Greece, Latvia, and Poland. The new wind energy approach to be employed by public authorities in collaboration with non-governmental organisations and the wind energy sector particularly involves civil society in the mitigation of threats related to the deployment, operation, and decommissioning of wind farms. To achieve this goal, the project builds the knowledge and capacities of public authorities and provides them with resources to address biodiversity concerns through advancements in their energy planning and monitoring policies. Furthermore, it improves cooperation between public authorities and civil society, allowing the latter to be more actively involved in identifying and monitoring biodiversity threats. It further enhances the capacity of businesses in the wind energy sector to voluntarily implement biodiversity protection measures. In the end, these activities increase public acceptance and support for wind energy and ultimately contribute to an accelerated expansion of wind power capacity in the respective areas.