Whose Expertise and Whose Knowledge Matter? Influencing Wind Power Decisions in Norway

Abstract

Norway is committed to promoting energy from renewable sources, but wind power installations are often sited in areas where the environment remains relatively untouched. This has generated a debate about the acceptability of such installations in the country. Host municipalities in Norway hold an unofficial veto power over the outcomes of proposals for wind power developments, so the ways that local attitudes and beliefs are influenced could be crucial to the outcome of licensing decisions. This research explores how elected officials come to hear about proposed wind farm developments, whose knowledge and expertise they trust on the issue – as well as whose is discounted – and how this impacts the eventual perceptions that they adopt. We investigate the persuasive influence of narrative messaging on both supportive and oppositional stakeholders in a land-based wind power licensing process in Norway.