Can the BestGrid Process Improve Stakeholder Involvement in Electricity Transmission Projects?

Abstract

Abstract:The European Union has set ambitious targets for deployment of renewable energy sources to reach goals of climate change mitigation and energy security policies. However, the current state of electricity transmission infrastructure is a major bottleneck for further scaling up of renewable energy in the EU. Several thousands of kilometers of new lines have to be constructed and upgraded to accommodate growing volumes of intermittent renewable electricity. In many countries, construction of electricity transmission projects has been delayed for several years due to concerns of local stakeholders. The innovative BESTGRID approach, reported here, brings together transmission system operators (TSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss and understand the nature of stakeholder concerns. This paper has three objectives: (1) to understand stakeholder concerns about the deployment of electricity transmission grids in four pilot projects according to five guiding principles: need, transparency, engagement, environment, and impacts on human health as well as benefits; (2) to understand how these principles can be addressed to provide a basis for better decision-making outcomes; and (3) to evaluate the BESTGRID process based on feedback received from stakeholders and the level of participation achieved according to the ladder of Arnstein. This paper goes OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2015, 8 9408 beyond a discussion of "measures to mitigate opposition" to understand how dialogue between TSOs and the public-represented mainly by NGOs and policy-makers-might lead to a better decision-making process and more sustainable electricity transmission infrastructure deployment.

Transmission transitions: Barriers, drivers, and institutional governance implications of Nordic transmission grid development

“…[50,17]), however, in our empirical material, local resistance does not appear as a key regime barrier for grid development. This aligns with Sataøen et al [68] who saw that Sweden, maybe surprisingly and in contrast to the UK and Norway, experiences less public resistance than its neighbouring countries.…”

“…In the social sciences, a body of research on local public resistance to grid development has emerged (e.g [4,9,17,44,49,50,68], whereas research into grid politics, planning, and governance at national and international level has been scarce (but see [8,13,64]. This paper aims to contribute to the latter body of work and also to the research agenda suggested by Sovacool [74] and Puka and Szulecki [64] on the underlying social explanations behind the too-slow development of the transmission grid in many places, despite the widely agreed benefits of it.…”

Participatory environmental governance of infrastructure projects affecting reindeer husbandry in the Arctic

“…For example, suitable alternatives on how and where to implement different types of projects can be negotiated between industries and local communities. However, in reality there seems to be some kind of a "Decide-Announce-Defend" model that is still dominating the process and communication between different stakeholders, as it has been shown by studies of Battaglini et al (2012), Komendantova et al (2015), and Komendantova and Battaglini (2016).…”

Energy Policy and Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a Global Problem

“…Komendantova et al [28] examine the concerns of local stakeholders affected by the construction of electricity transmission infrastructure. Since several thousands of kilometers of new lines have to be constructed and upgraded at the European level to accommodate growing volumes of intermittent renewable electricity, the dialogue between transmission system operators and non-governmental organizations, as exemplified by the BestGrid approach, is crucial.…”