Communicating to gain public acceptance of energy projects

Whoever plans to execute energy projects in today's world should be aware of the fact that the social framework conditions surrounding such projects have changed significantly. For the organization executing the project to merely adhere to the legally prescribed authorization procedure and leave it until the end of the planning procedure to inform those affected is often no longer sufficient for gaining public acceptance. Large parts of the population criticise the usual procedures because they have lost confidence in this kind of decision making, which offers them too little scope for co-determination. Thus for some years there has been a growing number of cases where citizens demand full public participation and early information on why the project in question is needed and what kinds of impact it will have. Lack of acceptance can lead to resistance, with negative effects on the project and the companies involved. TECSOL takes care of the communication management alongside energy projects, taking its bearings by the existing standards for voluntary early information of the public, as recommended by the VDI (Guideline 7001) and required by the legislature (PlVereinhG = Law for Improvement of Public Participation and Harmonisation of Plan Approval Procedures). The lecture outlines the societal challenges involved as well as the possibilities for dealing fairly with demands of the population in the context of energy projects. This is illustrated using the model case of the ''Etzel cultural landscape'' as a practical example, in which TECSOL played a prominent role on behalf of IVG Caverns GmbH.