A capability approach to analyse well-being impacts of wind energy infrastructure

Abstract

Despite the large existing body of empirical research on perceptions and motives of social opposition to wind energy infrastructure, challenges remain in understanding the impacts of turbines on the well-being of the communities where they are installed and how these reflect acceptance at the local level. This paper revisits a capability approach to analyse the impacts of wind energy developments on the well-being of neighbouring communities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, while expanding the depiction of the participatory mixed methodology used to identify valuable human capabilities. The study shows how the inclusion of community members as co-researchers is crucial to validate and locate Indigenous knowledge at the forefront while allowing local people to exercise greater voice and agency in how the research is conducted and designed. The methodology involved a three-stage process that integrated semi-structured interviews, focus groups, a survey, and participatory workshops, involving 450 participants. The findings conclude that community acceptability of energy infrastructure such as wind farms will only be achieved through inclusive community engagement that considers valued ways of being and doing of the local population. These include increasing the opportunities for people to live in good health, skilled employment in the industry, engaging and integrating local culture, values, worldviews and needs, and having a collective approach to the distribution of economic benefits that may strengthen social networks.