Abstract
This report, and the research which informs it, was commissioned by the Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Authority (EECA). Its purpose is to examine whether societal acceptance
issues are significantly limiting the establishment of new REG projects, and to identify the
key characteristics of social acceptance/resistance to REG in the New Zealand context. It
draws inspiration in part from the Create Acceptance7 project (part of the European
Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme) which set out to examine why in practice many
renewable energy projects in Europe were facing strong resistance from stakeholders8, often
proving to be a far bigger stumbling block than either technology or costs.9 Create
Acceptance (Cultural Influences on Renewable Energy Acceptance and Tools for the
development of communication strategies to promotE ACCEPTANCE among key actor
groups) was particularly focused on the adoption of new energy technologies and practices
(including household energy efficiency, biofuels, solar energy, bio-energy and carbon capture
and storage) and aimed to help those implementing innovative new energy technologies to
deal with societal acceptance issues. Subsequently, a tool (labelled ESTEEM10) was
developed to assist in acceptance of new and innovative REG projects by applying a
structured process, facilitated by an external consultant, to identify stakeholders and to work
with the project manager to resolve potential issues at an early stage in the process.
However, conditions in Europe are not the same as in New Zealand, and it is unclear
whether such a tool is needed in New Zealand, nor indeed whether a lack of social
acceptance is causing problems for achieving targets for the types of REG that are occurring
in NZ. This project therefore sets out to examine social acceptance of REG technologies
being utilised in the New Zealand situation. It aims to establish some empirical and
qualitative evidence of acceptance (and resistance) relating to renewable electricity
generation projects (hydro dams, wind farms, geothermal and marine energy) over the past
10 years. The study also seeks to identify what types of socially determined issues pose
significant barriers for REG projects, and whether this differs between types of electricity
generation.