%0 Thesis
%9 Bachelor
%A Laan, Durk van der
%D 2023
%F theses_frw:4364
%P 28
%T Ownership Structure and Community Acceptance of Solar Power Plants in ‘Energy Province’ Groningen, NL
%U https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4364/
%X Different forms of community ownership have shown to be beneficial to the acceptance of renewable energy installations. For solar power plants (SPPs), the reasons for this have not been researched thus far. This study compares attitudes of Groningen residents living near private SPPs and members of energy cooperations that operate an SPP. In doing so, it aims to gain deeper understanding of the relevant factors behind acceptance, as well as whether and how conducive cooperative solar energy is. By two rounds of surveys in Groningen (n=118), this study compares the two ownership forms with regards to how they experience procedural justice and distributive justice (fairness of process & fairness of costs and benefits), the impacts that SPPs have on their environment, how they experience place attachment, and how accepting they are of the local SPP. Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that on all abovementioned factors excluding place attachment (and connected items), cooperative SPPs elicit more positive experiences. Additionally, the study shows that for Groningen, attachment and dependence to/on the living environment were not reliable predictors for acceptance. Concluding, the results indicate that policymakers and developers both for cooperative and private SPPs should prioritize procedural and distributive justice, as well as that stimulating cooperative ownership can enhance citizen’s experiences of justice and acceptance.