Contending Expertise: An Interpretive Approach to (Re)conceiving Wind Power's ‘Planning Problem’

A tale of three transitions: a year in the life of electricity system transformation narratives in the Irish media

“…We begin from the proposition following that probing the constitution of alternative futures creates sensitivity to the social complexity of realising low-carbon transitions in economically dominated decision contexts [28]. Equally, we agree with their assertion that storylines help constitute reality allowing constellations of actors to coalesce around certain narratives.…”

“…Any discussion of a sustainable electricity system that seeks to exclude the challenges already encountered in the development of the necessary infrastructure for the grids of the future (e.g. generation, transmission and distribution) could further render the physical and material dimensions of electricity systems "invisible" [5,28,29] and occlude potential lessons to be learnt about sociocultural barriers to deployment.…”

“…The lessons learnt in the midlands controversy are equally applicable to this case. As Lennon and Scott point out, the rescaling of the planning process to the national level for projects falling under the provisions of strategic infrastructure legislation bypass public involvement in statutory procedures at local level and effectively reconceptualise "public interest" as "national interest" [28]. This suggests that there are structural as well as cultural roots to the controversy, where the seeds of discontent are already present in attempts to curtail public involvement in large-scale projects in the national interest [54].…”

“…And starting now, over the coming years, Ireland needs to deliver a world class electricity transmission system in all the regions which meets the needs of Ireland in the 21 st Century. [38] Grid 25 proposals come under the ambit of the fast-track planning processes under the Strategic Infrastructure Act introduced in 2006 to "secure speedier delivery of key infrastructure through providing a one-step consent procedure, rather than the conventional development control process" [28]. Several recent studies on energy transitions in Ireland [14, 51,52] have, however, increasingly highlighted the importance of socio-political acceptance in the transformation of the Irish electricity system.…”

Participar Está Na Moda: Uma Abordagem Psicossocial Dos Orçamentos Participativos

“…Por esse motivo, são igualmente poucas as análises sobre a relação entre os actores sociais intervenientes em arranjos institucionais de participação. A "importação" destas teorias da Psicologia Social para a Psicologia Ambiental veio trazer uma abordagem mais centrada no envolvimento de cidadãos em processos de tomada de decisão, bem como na forma como estes, conduzidos normalmente por grupos de peritos, excluem à partida os potenciais contributos dos públicos afectados (Batel & Devine-Wright, 2015;Lennon & Scott, 2015). De facto, são vários os autores que, ao analisar a reacção das/os cidadãs/ãos face a decisões que os afectam, mas das quais são excluídos, evidenciam a representação negativa do sistema técnico-político a respeito do público, rotulado como emocional ou irracional, insuficientemente informado e hostil aos avanços tecnológicos, o que leva técnicos e decisores a desqualificarem as posições do público (Barnett et al, 2012;Batel & Devine-Wright, 2015).…”