PhD Project: Public Engagement in Offshore Wind Energy

In Norway, there can currently be observed an increased interest in offshore wind energy as part of official political policy and within R & D activities. But to develop and implement a new technology is never just a technological question. Social, cultural and political aspects play an important role. In the past, the implementation of new renewable energies faced considerable problems, e.g. in the case of onshore wind energy.

My PhD project aims at developing a better theoretical understanding of the relation between experts and "the public" (the "general public" and particular stakeholders) with respect to developing and implementing offshore wind energy. On the one hand, it deals with the public perceptions accompanying the ongoing shift to offshore wind energy. The focus is on the appropriation of this new technology by the society. How does the public engage in this process? How do they perceive and understand it? What do they accept, what do they resist and for what reasons?  On the other hand, it focuses on the experts themselves. How do they engage the public? How do they imagine lay people and which role does the public get in knowledge production?

The knowledge gained through this project will be relevant for policy makers and experts to im­prove methods for carrying out public engagement as part of technological development. It may be used to change the dialogue practices between experts and the public and help to understand how we may get sustainable technologies more easily implemented.