Social acceptance of on-shore wind energy in Apulia Region (Southern Italy)

Over the last decades, the increase in energy production from renewable sources has grown rapidly. In Italy, about 30% of national energy production uses renewable sources. Wind energy, in particular, is one of the most promising clean energy markets. The presence of a favourable climatic condition for wind power in the Apulia Region in southern Italy has pushed towards the development of one of the greatest on-shore areas in the country and Europe. Nonetheless, the high concentration of on-shore wind farms on the territory of the Apulia Region has posed serious problems over time. Despite the undoubted advantages of wind energy in terms of carbon and fossil fuel savings, there has been an increasing public awareness for landscape preservation. The majority of people living nearby on-shore wind farms seem to suffer from the change of ‘their’ landscape. This paper contributes to an understanding of the public awareness for the existing trade-off between landscape conservation and wind energy. With the use of a choice experiment approach, we infer on the social acceptance of on-shore wind energy in Apulia Region. Main results enable us: i) to analyse consumers’ willingness to pay for a hypothetical re-development of on-shore wind farms; ii) to determine the potential trade-offs between on-shore wind farms, landscape conservation and socio-economic issues; iii) to discuss the existence and overcome the problems of an asymmetric information between producers, consumers and policy makers on the implementation of on-shore wind farms on the territory.