OOPS! THEY BUILD IT AGAIN : A suitability analysis for future wind farm location in Sweden

Abstract: The world energy needs increasing in a significant number and currently it is mainly sourced from the finite fossil fuel. Other than that, fossil fuel is the main source of CO2 emissions that leads to the increasing rate of global warming that will ultimately change the earth's climate. Thus, researcher began to look for alternative energy that is renewable and has the least impact to the world's climate; one example is wind energy. Sweden has experienced a significant increase in wind energy generation, where the wind production constantly grows in the double-digit rates since 2010. However, developing a wind energy requires a significant research and feasibility study in order to provide an economically sustainable operation. Wind farm needs to be located in areas with a good wind potential, however there are several technical and economic limitation on where the wind farm should be located. On top of that, social rejection might also hinder the development of wind energy. Audio-visual obstruction and disturbance to the natural state of the environment are the main arguments that were used to challenge the development of wind farm. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary study needs to be conducted in order to find the perfect balance; which is exactly what this study is all about. The result of this study shows that despite the threat of climate change, wind farm in Sweden could thrive due to the increasing wind speed across the country. It was also discovered that around 30% of the country is suitable, from the social, technical, and economic point of view, as a new location for wind farms. This study also reveals that most of the canceled / rejected wind farms were probably caused by the social rejection due to their proximity to population center or conservation areas. This study also discussed the concept of place attachment and identity that leads to the NIMBY attitude and reflects the concept of the social acceptance issue that happened in Sweden and on how to localize the wind farm concept to the local residence.