Interactive experience of the energy transition – Publication in the journal Energy Policy
We are pleased to announce the recent publication of the article “Shaping stable support: Leveraging digital feedback interventions to elicit socio-political acceptance of renewable energy “ in the renowned journal Energy Policy (VHB Jourqual: B). The article is the result of a collaboration with Prof. Dr. Gilbert Fridgen from the University of Luxembourg and Dr. Felix Wagon from the FIM Research Center in Augsburg.
Although most people in Germany are in favor of renewable energies, their expansion often fails in practice due to local resistance. Similar to other technologies, the acceptance of renewable energies falls sharply as soon as people are directly affected in their local area (“not in my backyard”). As part of the study, the team of authors developed a digital tool that communicates the concrete, local effects of the energy transition to citizens in a playful way. 430 participants in a study received interactive feedback on how their desired share of wind in the energy mix would affect the local construction of wind turbines. The majority of participants who actively engaged with the digital tool revised their preconceived opinions. The study shows that information systems can contribute to more informed opinion-forming and a more objective discussion culture.
The full article can be accessed here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421524003276