Place Attachment and Marine Recreationists' Attitudes toward Offshore Wind Energy Development

Renewable energy initiatives are increasing and many locations selected for offshore wind farms are close to recreation resources. Public involvement processes to assess project support are standard in offshore wind energy planning. However, often missing from these assessments are investigations into subpopulations, such as marine recreationists. Using mixed methods, researchers evaluated a scale that measures marine recreationists' (n = 483) attitudes toward offshore wind energy. Researchers also examined the relationships between place attachment and opposition and support for the proposed projects. Results suggest that place attachment can assist in predicting attitudes toward offshore wind energy development, but the explanatory power and the nature of the relationships differed between two communities. Implications for communication, outreach, and recreation management are discussed.