Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy
Abstract This paper examines the social, cultural and political factors that favor or disrupt deep geothermal energy projects in Alsace. The research was conducted in the Risk Governance package of the H2020 DESTRESS program, aimed at comparing public perceptions of deep geothermal energy in differe...
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doaj-8ea554a320114a12b7ee99471cd3b1c92020-11-25T00:16:07ZengSpringerOpenGeothermal Energy2195-97062018-11-016112110.1186/s40517-018-0111-6Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracyPhilippe Chavot0Christine Heimlich1Anne Masseran2Yeny Serrano3Jean Zoungrana4Cyrille Bodin5LISEC, University of StrasbourgLISEC, University of StrasbourgCREM, University of Lorraine/University of StrasbourgLISEC, University of StrasbourgSAGE, University of StrasbourgLISEC, University of StrasbourgAbstract This paper examines the social, cultural and political factors that favor or disrupt deep geothermal energy projects in Alsace. The research was conducted in the Risk Governance package of the H2020 DESTRESS program, aimed at comparing public perceptions of deep geothermal energy in different contexts. The French case studies focus on two different contexts: one in Northern Alsace, where geothermal energy is fairly well accepted, and another in the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, where some projects have raised substantial controversy. Several conceptual tools are used to understand variations in the public perceptions of geothermal projects. First, the distinction between “locally anchored” projects and “unbound” or exogenous projects account for the way these projects take shape, based on dialog or facilitated by a favorable economic and national political context, ignoring local specificities. Second, the concepts of social identity and social worlds allow us to yield insights into the acceptability of a project on a more sociological and cultural level, instead of adopting a limited risk perception focus. By considering the social and cultural contexts, we can better explain the weight that opponents place in their discourses on induced risks, local politics, or environmental issues during a technoscientific controversy. This ultimately leads us to underline the limitations of the communication models for project governance that are chiefly aimed at reassuring the local population.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40517-018-0111-6Deep geothermal energyControversyEnergy transitionPublic engagementAlsace Upper Rhine Graben |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Philippe Chavot Christine Heimlich Anne Masseran Yeny Serrano Jean Zoungrana Cyrille Bodin |
spellingShingle |
Philippe Chavot Christine Heimlich Anne Masseran Yeny Serrano Jean Zoungrana Cyrille Bodin Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy Geothermal Energy Deep geothermal energy Controversy Energy transition Public engagement Alsace Upper Rhine Graben |
author_facet |
Philippe Chavot Christine Heimlich Anne Masseran Yeny Serrano Jean Zoungrana Cyrille Bodin |
author_sort |
Philippe Chavot |
title |
Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy |
title_short |
Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy |
title_full |
Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy |
title_fullStr |
Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Social shaping of deep geothermal projects in Alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy |
title_sort |
social shaping of deep geothermal projects in alsace: politics, stakeholder attitudes and local democracy |
publisher |
SpringerOpen |
series |
Geothermal Energy |
issn |
2195-9706 |
publishDate |
2018-11-01 |
description |
Abstract This paper examines the social, cultural and political factors that favor or disrupt deep geothermal energy projects in Alsace. The research was conducted in the Risk Governance package of the H2020 DESTRESS program, aimed at comparing public perceptions of deep geothermal energy in different contexts. The French case studies focus on two different contexts: one in Northern Alsace, where geothermal energy is fairly well accepted, and another in the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, where some projects have raised substantial controversy. Several conceptual tools are used to understand variations in the public perceptions of geothermal projects. First, the distinction between “locally anchored” projects and “unbound” or exogenous projects account for the way these projects take shape, based on dialog or facilitated by a favorable economic and national political context, ignoring local specificities. Second, the concepts of social identity and social worlds allow us to yield insights into the acceptability of a project on a more sociological and cultural level, instead of adopting a limited risk perception focus. By considering the social and cultural contexts, we can better explain the weight that opponents place in their discourses on induced risks, local politics, or environmental issues during a technoscientific controversy. This ultimately leads us to underline the limitations of the communication models for project governance that are chiefly aimed at reassuring the local population. |
topic |
Deep geothermal energy Controversy Energy transition Public engagement Alsace Upper Rhine Graben |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40517-018-0111-6 |
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