The good, the bad, and the nobody: Exploring diversity of perceptions of anaerobic digestion plants in Central and Eastern Europe

Anaerobic digestion (AD) plants fed by agricultural biowastes are highly relevant renewable energy producers supporting the transition towards sustainable waste management. However, local support for the operation of individual AD plants seems to be highly diverse, case specific and generally insufficient. Following this challenge visible especially in Central and Eastern Europe, our research aims to detect and explain commonalities and discordances in the perception of AD plants in their host communities in Slovakia. Three types of rural communities in the western part of the country were selected for a set of comparative surveys as the illustrative case studies. We have selected: (i) the community where planning, building, and operation of AD plant did not cause any significant issues, (ii) the community, where significant controversies around operating AD plant occurred, and (iii) the community, where the AD plant project was stopped during the planning phase due to community resistance. We ascertained that in all three types of host communities, respondents claimed that AD plants worsen the local quality of life. In communities with the issues-free planning and operation of AD plants or where the project was stopped, the attitudes towards AD plants are rather constant. However, if community experienced issues with the AD plant operation, the overall support for biogas energy significantly worsened. Interestingly, a positive local experience with biogas supports further development of AD plants, however, only if these are located out of the host communities. Thus our findings enrich knowledge about the NIMBY effect with an Eastern European perspective.

Automated summary

The perception of anaerobic digestion (AD) plants in host communities in Slovakia varies depending on the community's experience with and proximity to the plants. The study found that in communities where the planning and operation of AD plants were smooth or where the project was stopped, the attitudes towards AD plants remained constant. However, in communities where issues with AD plant operation arose, the overall support for biogas energy significantly decreased. Interestingly, positive local experiences with biogas supported further development of AD plants only if they were located outside of the host communities.