Improving Public Attitude towards Renewable Energy

In recent years, the urgent necessity and tremendous opportunity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon competitive economy has resulted in growth of long-term targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, which are coming from policy bodies worldwide. The inherent distributed nature of renewable energies, together with the modularity of those technologies, brings opportunities for consumer empowerment in terms of participation. Nevertheless, there is still the need for increasing global awareness and enabling policies, to strengthen the citizen role in the energy system, facilitating their proactive participation as renewable energy purchasers, investors, and clean energy producers. Drawing from research interviews and the academic literature, this article conceptualizes the understanding of the need for improving public attitudes and explores the factors influencing the acceptance in terms of misconceptions, best communication practices, activities addressing public concerns, and potential actions to bolster public support towards renewable energy. Research interviews were conducted at a technical workshop on social acceptance of renewable energy, held in Abu Dhabi in October 2013, and the findings show that despite detecting an increasing trend towards greater and more active participation of citizens, many misconceptions together with insufficient and inefficient awareness and communication initiatives on renewable energies persist. The main conclusions can be used as a basis for formulating sustainable energy communication and awareness campaigns in order to enhance public acceptance and increase active participation in renewable energy technologies.