Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas

Qing Song; Jieming Chen; Adeshile Ajayi; Francisco Haces-Fernandez; Kai Jin; Hua Li

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

| Peer-Reviewed

Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas

Qing Song, Jieming Chen, Adeshile Ajayi, Francisco Haces-Fernandez, Kai Jin, Hua Li

Published in International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy (Volume 5, Issue 5)

Received: 26 August 2016 Accepted: 8 September 2016 Published: 22 September 2016

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

In the last decades wind energy has enjoyed a rapid development and the endorsement from most of society. However, sometimes wind farms face skepticism from local residents and other stakeholders before and after installation. This paper reviews potential factor influencing public opinions on wind farms, and analyzes data from a survey carried out among college students in South Texas to search for empirical evidence of the opinion forming process about wind farms. The results show that it’s important to analyze opposition to these installations and the reason that cause this rejection, because these factors could derail the projects despite wide general support even if the project is well developed. It also shows that people appear to be overwhelmingly supportive on the issue of whether to support wind farms in general. However, once the question is whether to support building a wind farm near one’s home, the overriding concern is economic.

Published in	International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy (Volume 5, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
Page(s)	103-110
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Wind Energy, Wind Farm Development, Social Attitudes

References

[1]	J. Swofford and M. Slattery, Public attitudes of wind energy in Texas: Local communities in close proximity to wind farms and their effect on decision-making. Energy policy, 38(5), 2508-2519, (2010).
[2]	M. Wolsink, Wind power implementation: the nature of public attitudes: equity and fairness instead of ‘backyard motives’. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 11(6), 1188-1207, (2007).
[3]	United States Energy Information Administration. Electric Power Monthly. 2011. http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html, retrieved on October 2013.
[4]	U. S. Department of Energy. Wind Powering America: Installed U.S. Wind Capacity and Wind Project Locations. 2011. Retrieved on October 2013, http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_installed_capacity.asp.
[5]	T. M. Groth and C.A. Vogt, Rural wind farm development: Social, environmental and economic features important to local residents. Renewable Energy, 63, 1-8, (2014).
[6]	N. Hall, P. Ashworth, and P. Devine-Wright, Societal acceptance of wind farms: Analysis of four common themes across Australian case studies. Energy Policy, 58, 200-208, (2013).
[7]	M. J. Pasqualetti, Opposing wind energy landscapes: a search for common cause. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 101(4), 907-917, (2011).
[8]	K. Burningham, 'Using the language of NIMBY: A topic for research, not an activity for researchers', Local Environment, 5 (1), 55-67, (2000).
[9]	P. Devine‐Wright, Beyond NIMBYism: towards an integrated framework for understanding public perceptions of wind energy. Wind energy, 8(2), 125-139, (2005).
[10]	P. Devine-Wright, 'Explaining "NIMBY" Objections to a Power Line: The Role of Personal, Place Attachment and Project-Related Factors', Environment and Behavior, 45 (6), 761-81, (2013).
[11]	M. Aitken, 'Why we still don’t understand the social aspects of wind power: A critique of key assumptions within the literature', Energy Policy, 38 (4), 1834-41, (2010).
[12]	S. Agterbosch, P. Glasbergen, and W. J. V. Vermeulen, 'Social barriers in wind power implementation in The Netherlands: Perceptions of wind power entrepreneurs and local civil servants of institutional and social conditions in realizing wind power projects', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 11 (6), 1025-55, (2007).
[13]	S. Breukers and M. Wolsink, 'Wind power implementation in changing institutional landscapes: An international comparison', Energy Policy, 35 (5), 2737-50, (2007).
[14]	J. B. Graham, J. R. Stephenson and I. J. Smith, 'Public perceptions of wind energy developments: Case studies from New Zealand', Energy Policy, 37 (9), 3348-57, (2009).
[15]	C. Gross, 'Community perspectives of wind energy in Australia: The application of a justice and community fairness framework to increase social acceptance', Energy Policy, 35 (5), 2727-36 (2007).
[16]	R. S. Erikson, J. P. McIver and G. C. Wright Jr, State political culture and public opinion. The American Political Science Review, 797-813 (1987).
[17]	G. Sterzinger, F. Beck and D. Kostiuk. The effect of wind development on local property value. (2003). Retrieved on October 2013, http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/wind_online_final.pdf.
[18]	E. Pedersen, Health aspects associated with wind turbine noise - Results from three field studies. Noise Control Engineering Journal; 59 (1): 47–53 (2011).
[19]	I. D. Bishop, What do we really know? A meta-analysis of studies into public responses to wind energy. In World Renewable Energy Congress, Linköping University Electronic Press, Linköping, Sweden (pp. 4161-4169) (2011).
[20]	R. Wüstenhagen, M. Wolsink and M. J. Bürer, Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: An introduction to the concept. Energy policy, 35(5), 2683-2691, (2007).
[21]	Ministry of the Environment of Ontario. Interpretation for Applying MOE NPC Technical Publications to Wind Turbine Generators. (2004). Retrieved on October 2013, http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@ene/@resources/documents/resource/std01_079435.pdf.
[22]	D. J. Alberts. Addressing wind turbine noise. (2006). Retrieved on October 2013, http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/windpower/pubs/pdf/AddressingWindTurbineNoise.pdf.
[23]	D. Colby, R. Dobie, G. Leventhall, D. M. Lipscomb, R. J. McCunney, M. T. Seilo and B. Sondergaard, Wind turbine sound and health effects: An expert panel review. Prepared by American Wind Energy Association and Canadian Wind Energy Association (2009)/
[24]	British Wind Energy Association. Low Frequency Noise and Wind Turbines Technical Annex. 2005. http://www.bwea.com/pdf/lfn-annex.pdf, retrieved on October 2013.
[25]	J. M. Ellenbogen Jeffrey, Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of Independent Expert Panel. (2012). http://www.mass.gov/dep/energy/wind/turbine_impact_study.pdf, retrieved on October 2013.
[26]	L. S. Kim, W. Choi, Annoyance caused by amplitude modulation of wind turbine noise. Noise Control Engineering Journal; 59 (1): 38–46 (2011).
[27]	Acoustic Ecology Institute. Wind energy noise impacts. 2009. Retrieved on October 2013, http://www.acousticecology.org/docs/AEI%20Wind%20Turbine%20Noise%20FactSheet.pdf.
[28]	DBSM Jane, R. H. Davis, Noise pollution from wind turbine, living with amplitude modulation, lower frequency emissions and sleep deprivation. Second International Meeting on Wind Turbine Noise (2007).
[29]	B. Horner, R. D. Jeffery and C. M. Krogh, Literature Reviews on Wind Turbines and Health Are They Enough?. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 31(5), 399-413, (2011).
[30]	D. Shepherd, D. McBride, D. Welch, K. N. Dirks and E. M. Hill, Evaluating the impact of wind turbine noise on health-related quality of life. Noise and Health, 13(54), 333 (2011).
[31]	E. P. Torrance and K. Goff, A quiet revolution. Engineering and Technology; 10:44-7 (2009).
[32]	R. Asfahl, C. Ray, D. W. Rieske, Industrial safety and health management (6th edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall; (2010).
[33]	R. G. Sullivan, B. L. Kirchler, T. Lahti, S. Roché, K. Beckman, B. Cantwell, B. and P. Richmond, Wind Turbine Visibility and Visual Impact Threshold Distances in Western Landscapes. Argonne National Laboratory, USA, 1-47 (2011).
[34]	Thomas Priestley. An introduction to shadow flicker and its analysis. 2011. http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/pdfs/workshops/2011/webinar_shadow_flicker_priestley.pdf, retrieved on October 2013.
[35]	B. Hoen, The impact of wind power projects on residential property values in the United States: A multi-site hedonic analysis. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2010).
[36]	B. Hoen, B, A spatial hedonic analysis of the effects of wind energy facilities on surrounding property values in the United States. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, (2014).
[37]	M. Ragheb, Safety of wind systems (2011).
[38]	P. Atkinson, Securing the safety of offshore wind workers. Renewable Energy Focus, 11(3), 34-36 (2010).
[39]	S. Uadiale, E. Urbán, R. Carvel, D. Lange and G. Rein, Overview Of Problems And Solutions In Fire Protection Engineering Of Wind Turbines (2014).
[40]	C. Morgan, E. Bossanyi and H. Seifert, Assessment of safety risks arising from wind turbine icing. In EWEC-Conference- (Pp. 141-144). Bookshop for Scientific Publications (1997).
[41]	Confederation of Fire Protection Associations in Europe (CFPA E). Wind Turbines fire protection guidelines. Guideline CFPA E 22:2010 F. April 2010, (2010).
[42]	F. Krug, B. Lewke, Electromagnetic Interference on Large Wind Turbines. Energies 2009; 2: 1118-1129 (2009).
[43]	A. L. Drewitt and R. H. Langston, Assessing the impacts of wind farms on birds. Ibis, 148(s1), 29-42 (2006).
[44]	E. Binopoulos, P. Haviaropoulos, Environmental impacts of wind farms: myth and reality. Centre for Renewable Energy Sources, (2006). http://www.cres.gr/kape/publications/papers/ dimosieyseis/ CRESTRANSWIND ENVIRONMENT.doc, retrieved on October 2013.
[45]	D. Y. Leung and Y. Yang, Wind energy development and its environmental impact: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(1), 1031-1039, (2012).
[46]	J. Carver, L. Jaccheri, S. Morasca, S. and F. Shull, Issues in using students in empirical studies in software engineering education. In Software Metrics Symposium, September 2003. Proceedings. Ninth International. IEEE. (pp. 239-249), (2003).
[47]	M. Höst, B. Regnell and C. Wohlin, C. Using students as subjects-a comparative study of students and professionals in lead-time impact assessment. Empirical Software Engineering, 5 (3), 201-214, (2000).
[48]	J. B. Jacquet, Landowner attitudes toward natural gas and wind farm development in northern Pennsylvania. Energy Policy, 50, 677-688, (2012).
[49]	J. K. Kaldellis, et al., Comparing recent views of public attitude on wind energy, photovoltaic and small hydro applications. Renewable energy, 52, 197-208, (2013).
[50]	Renewable Energies and European Landscapes. Lessons from Southern European Cases. Editors: Frolova, Marina; Prados, María-José; Nadaï, Alain (Eds.). Springer (2015).

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Qing Song, Jieming Chen, Adeshile Ajayi, Francisco Haces-Fernandez, Kai Jin, et al. (2016). Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas. International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy, 5(5), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Qing Song; Jieming Chen; Adeshile Ajayi; Francisco Haces-Fernandez; Kai Jin, et al. Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas. Int. J. Sustain. Green Energy 2016, 5(5), 103-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Qing Song, Jieming Chen, Adeshile Ajayi, Francisco Haces-Fernandez, Kai Jin, et al. Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas. Int J Sustain Green Energy. 2016;5(5):103-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13,
  author = {Qing Song and Jieming Chen and Adeshile Ajayi and Francisco Haces-Fernandez and Kai Jin and Hua Li},
  title = {Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas},
  journal = {International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy},
  volume = {5},
  number = {5},
  pages = {103-110},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijrse.20160505.13},
  abstract = {In the last decades wind energy has enjoyed a rapid development and the endorsement from most of society. However, sometimes wind farms face skepticism from local residents and other stakeholders before and after installation. This paper reviews potential factor influencing public opinions on wind farms, and analyzes data from a survey carried out among college students in South Texas to search for empirical evidence of the opinion forming process about wind farms. The results show that it’s important to analyze opposition to these installations and the reason that cause this rejection, because these factors could derail the projects despite wide general support even if the project is well developed. It also shows that people appear to be overwhelmingly supportive on the issue of whether to support wind farms in general. However, once the question is whether to support building a wind farm near one’s home, the overriding concern is economic.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas
AU  - Qing Song
AU  - Jieming Chen
AU  - Adeshile Ajayi
AU  - Francisco Haces-Fernandez
AU  - Kai Jin
AU  - Hua Li
Y1  - 2016/09/22
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
T2  - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy
JF  - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy
JO  - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy
SP  - 103
EP  - 110
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1549
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
AB  - In the last decades wind energy has enjoyed a rapid development and the endorsement from most of society. However, sometimes wind farms face skepticism from local residents and other stakeholders before and after installation. This paper reviews potential factor influencing public opinions on wind farms, and analyzes data from a survey carried out among college students in South Texas to search for empirical evidence of the opinion forming process about wind farms. The results show that it’s important to analyze opposition to these installations and the reason that cause this rejection, because these factors could derail the projects despite wide general support even if the project is well developed. It also shows that people appear to be overwhelmingly supportive on the issue of whether to support wind farms in general. However, once the question is whether to support building a wind farm near one’s home, the overriding concern is economic.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Qing Song

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, USA
Jieming Chen

Department of Psychology and Sociology, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, USA
Adeshile Ajayi

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, USA
Francisco Haces-Fernandez

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, USA
Kai Jin

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, USA
Hua Li

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, USA

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Qing Song, Jieming Chen, Adeshile Ajayi, Francisco Haces-Fernandez, Kai Jin, et al. (2016). Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas. International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy, 5(5), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Qing Song; Jieming Chen; Adeshile Ajayi; Francisco Haces-Fernandez; Kai Jin, et al. Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas. Int. J. Sustain. Green Energy 2016, 5(5), 103-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Qing Song, Jieming Chen, Adeshile Ajayi, Francisco Haces-Fernandez, Kai Jin, et al. Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas. Int J Sustain Green Energy. 2016;5(5):103-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13,
  author = {Qing Song and Jieming Chen and Adeshile Ajayi and Francisco Haces-Fernandez and Kai Jin and Hua Li},
  title = {Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas},
  journal = {International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy},
  volume = {5},
  number = {5},
  pages = {103-110},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijrse.20160505.13},
  abstract = {In the last decades wind energy has enjoyed a rapid development and the endorsement from most of society. However, sometimes wind farms face skepticism from local residents and other stakeholders before and after installation. This paper reviews potential factor influencing public opinions on wind farms, and analyzes data from a survey carried out among college students in South Texas to search for empirical evidence of the opinion forming process about wind farms. The results show that it’s important to analyze opposition to these installations and the reason that cause this rejection, because these factors could derail the projects despite wide general support even if the project is well developed. It also shows that people appear to be overwhelmingly supportive on the issue of whether to support wind farms in general. However, once the question is whether to support building a wind farm near one’s home, the overriding concern is economic.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Social Attitudes of College Students Toward Wind Farm Development in South Texas
AU  - Qing Song
AU  - Jieming Chen
AU  - Adeshile Ajayi
AU  - Francisco Haces-Fernandez
AU  - Kai Jin
AU  - Hua Li
Y1  - 2016/09/22
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
T2  - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy
JF  - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy
JO  - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy
SP  - 103
EP  - 110
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1549
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20160505.13
AB  - In the last decades wind energy has enjoyed a rapid development and the endorsement from most of society. However, sometimes wind farms face skepticism from local residents and other stakeholders before and after installation. This paper reviews potential factor influencing public opinions on wind farms, and analyzes data from a survey carried out among college students in South Texas to search for empirical evidence of the opinion forming process about wind farms. The results show that it’s important to analyze opposition to these installations and the reason that cause this rejection, because these factors could derail the projects despite wide general support even if the project is well developed. It also shows that people appear to be overwhelmingly supportive on the issue of whether to support wind farms in general. However, once the question is whether to support building a wind farm near one’s home, the overriding concern is economic.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download