Identifying non-technological barriers to Wind power: Local communities

Wind energy is anticipated to be the main Renewable Energy Source that will contribute towards meeting the European Union's 2020 targets. However, in many cases the growth rate is considered insufficient, as in Greece. There still exist important barriers that prevent the widespread of wind energy in Europe and arguably non-technological ones may be more difficult to overcome. In this context, GP-WIND is a project aiming to develop a Good Practice Guide and a `How to' Toolkit, which will aid various stakeholders in overcoming barriers in relation to environment and communities. The scope of this paper is to present part of the thematic case studies dealing with communities. Moreover, a survey concerning local opposition to a proposed wind farm in Greece is discussed, along with the current situation concerning wind energy in the country. Results from the survey show that international good practice in terms of community engagement was not followed, resulting in considerable delays.