Local acceptance of existing biogas plants in Switzerland

After the Swiss government's decision to decommission its five nuclear power plants by 2035, energy production from wind, biomass, biogas and photovoltaic is expected to increase significantly. Due to its many aspects of a direct democracy, high levels of public acceptance are necessary if a substantial increase in new renewable energy power plants is to be achieved in Switzerland. A survey of 502 citizens living near 19 biogas plants was conducted as the basis for using structural equation modeling to measure the effects of perceived benefits, perceived costs, trust towards the plant operator, perceived smell, information received and participation options on citizens' acceptance of their biogas plant. Results show that local acceptance towards existing biogas power plants is relatively high in Switzerland. Perceived benefits and costs as well as trust towards the plant operator are highly correlated and have a significant effect on local acceptance. While smell perception and information received had a significant effect on local acceptance as well, no such effect was found for participation options. Reasons for the non-impact of participation options on local acceptance are discussed, and pathways for future research are presented. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.