Landscape stewardship in wind energy conflicts: Between cultural myths and interests

Bleta Arifi, Georg Winkel, Chantal Ruppert-Winkel

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In 2011 the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg experienced a political landslide event. After several decades of conservative rule, the Green Party and their allies, the Social Democrats, won a majority in the regional parliament. In the aftermath of the Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, a key to the Green Party’s success was their energy policy, consisting of two pillars: the phase out of nuclear energy and the shift towards renewable energy. The new government soon announced a new energy policy for Baden-Württemberg, which at that time was rather a laggard in the German energy transition policy towards renewable energies. This regional policy aims to increase the share of electricity generated from wind energy, from less than one percent to ten percent by 2020. In order to achieve this goal, a massive investment in wind energy was necessary. As soon as the implementation of this new policy began, unexpectedly massive protests ensued in the (mostly rural) areas that were crucial for future wind energy generation due to their exposed relief, which were also known for their scenic landscape, first and foremost the Black Forest. Tourism dependent communities, hiker clubs, nature conservationists and foresters objected to wind turbines on hilltops. Protests culminated in town hall meetings where wind energy proponents were scolded. These protests created irritation among many urban citizens, who deemed the opposition to be linked to diehard rural conservatism or the selfish economic interests of the tourism branch. The topic of landscape is central to all of this. The production of electricity has shaped landscapes since the industrial revolution (Nadaï and van der Horst 2010). The reconfiguration of the energy system towards the generation of electricity from renewable sources, however, impacts landscape significantly in a comparatively short time (ibid.). It makes the energy system visible for many more people (Pasqualetti 2000, Nadaï and van der Horst 2010). Landscapes have thus become central to energy policy and the wind energy controversy (Nadaï and van der Horst 2010). On the one hand, wind turbines are perceived to be a threat to the cultural heritage of the landscape; on the other hand, landscapes with wind turbines are presented as emblems of a sustainable reconfiguration of the socio-technical system, for instance as (sustainable) energy landscapes (Otto and Leibenath 2013, van der Horst 2014) or windscapes (Krauss 2010).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Science and Practice of Landscape Stewardship
EditorsClaudia Bieling, Tobias Plieninger
PublisherCambridge University Press India
Pages167-181
Number of pages15
ISBN (Electronic)9781316499016
ISBN (Print)9781107142268
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017
Externally publishedYes

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