Assessing acceptability of two onshore wind power development schemes: A test of viewshed effects and the cumulative effects of wind turbines

Presently, onshore wind turbine densities are increasing in many countries. The “crowding” of wind turbines in especially the urban fringe and in more densely populated rural areas is expected to meet resistance. However, few studies have to date analysed the cumulative effects of wind power on the social acceptance of wind power. We shed light on this issue and find that the attitude towards increasing the onshore wind power capacity in Denmark is significantly influenced by the number of turbines people see on a daily basis. However, we find that this effect is conditional on having a wind turbine in the viewshed from the permanent or summer residence. Accordingly, if people cannot see an onshore wind turbine from their permanent or summer residence we do not find significant evidence of cumulative effects on attitude. Furthermore, if we hypothesise that an increase in the wind power capacity is implemented by replacing smaller wind turbines with larger ones, we find that the cumulative effects are reduced also among respondents having onshore wind turbines in the viewshed. This suggests that alternative strategies for increasing the onshore wind power capacity can have significant impact on social acceptance.

► Attitudes towards more onshore wind turbines and replacing onshore smaller turbines with larger turbines are analysed.
► We test the effect of the number of turbines seen daily on attitude.
► We find evidence of cumulative effects from onshore wind turbines.
► The cumulative effects are conditional on viewshed effects.
► The cumulative effects are not significant in the case of replacing smaller turbines.