WENDY

WENDY aims to unravel the factors that trigger social acceptance of wind farms through in-depth analysis in three dimensions: social sciences and humanities, environmental sciences and engineering technology.

To this end, the project will implement a series of local actions that promote the wider adoption of the project solutions, including guidelines, reports and manuals that will be created to boost understanding of wind farm decision-making processes and improve energy citizenship. This will be supported by WENDY's spatial multi-criteria tool. A tool capable of identifying the optimal location of turbines with the minimum environmental impact and the highest likelihood of social acceptance. 

Specific objectives:

• To unravel the different factors of social opposition in onshore/offshore wind farm development, considering geographical and contractual specificities.
• Develop validated methodologies that assess the effects of wind farms on the local natural environment and biodiversity, and form a repository of mitigation solutions.
• Develop a Holistic Impact Assessment: Establish and adjust a set of supporting tools and models, equally considering social, environmental and technological aspects, to identify the optimal location of turbines with the minimum environmental impact and the highest probability of social acceptance.
• Carry out a validation program up to TRL 5 of the social, environmental and techno-economic actions, to demonstrate their usefulness and applicability in different communities and cultures through 10 wind projects.