ABSTRACT

As offshore wind energy development gains a foothold, the possibility of conflict between local communities and developers may become increasingly common. Coastal communities within the viewshed or hosting transmission cables may fear several impacts but few benefits. Community benefits, provided through the wind farm developer, may help garner local support in communities in close proximity to a wind farm project. This research focused on the first offshore wind energy lease off the coastline of North Carolina, U.S. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to understand how key informants think of a proposed offshore wind farm in the context of community benefits. Findings reveal that key informants are skeptical of direct benefits like local employment, though optimistic about indirect, regional benefits, like economic development. The majority of key informants were interested in a community fund that would be administered by the local government or a trusted local organization. This study provides an initial assessment of perspectives on community benefits in the context of offshore wind development and makes recommendations on how to incorporate community benefits into the offshore wind development process. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of additional research into this topic.

摘要

随着海上风能开发站稳脚跟，当地社区与开发商之间发生冲突的可能性可能会越来越普遍。视域内或托管传输电缆的沿海社区可能会担心多种影响，但收益甚微。通过风电场开发商提供的社区福利可能有助于在靠近风电场项目的社区中获得当地支持。这项研究的重点是美国北卡罗来纳州海岸线附近的第一个海上风能租赁。这项研究利用半结构化访谈来了解关键信息提供者如何在社区利益的背景下考虑拟议的海上风电场。调查结果显示，主要知情人对当地就业等直接利益持怀疑态度，但对经济发展等间接区域利益持乐观态度。大多数关键知情人对由当地政府或受信任的当地组织管理的社区基金感兴趣。本研究对海上风电开发背景下的社区利益观点进行了初步评估，并就如何将社区利益纳入海上风电开发过程提出了建议。此外，我们强调对该主题进行额外研究的重要性。