The rise of solar landscapes : Exploring key activities to advance practices and designing solar power plants

Summary

The transition to renewable energy sources leads to landscape transformation, which is not always supported by local stakeholders. Currently in The Netherlands, there is a gap between environmental and socio-cultural objectives that are held by society and (partly) addressed by policy on the one hand and the current practice of solar power plant (SPP) development on the other hand. Moreover, there is a gap between that current practice and the scholarly work on a sustainable energy transition. These gaps between practice, society, and science call for a better understanding of current SPP development, and require a critical reflection on the current SPP practice to discover activities that can advance SPP development. The research exists of four research modules. First, I performed a systematic literature review to examine whether and how acceptance studies on renewable energy and landscape design studies complement each other. This resulted in a long-list of 80+ factors for acceptance described in peer-reviewed literature. Second, I performed engaged action research to examine the influence of a co-designed full-scale prototype on local support and opposition for a SPP. Here, I conclude that the prototype had a positive influence on local support for a SPP and helped to break status quo bias. Third, I rendered recommendations for energy policy based on a multiple case study on the benefits and limitations of participatory design processes in SPP development in The Netherlands. Fourth, I performed a post-occupancy evaluation followed by structured interviews to examine reoccurring discrepancies between permit documentation and built reality of five Dutch SPPs. This led to recommendations on strengthening the position of landscape architects as well as policy requirements in SPP development. Based on the findings of the four research modules, I illustrate shortcomings in current practices in the SPP development. More often than not, the environmental and socio-cultural objectives that were stated at the beginning of SPP projects are disappearing during the SPP development. Many results in this thesis point towards a techno-economic focus in SPP project development which makes it difficult for other objectives relevant to society to materialize. Based on the research presented in this thesis, I articulate seven key activities to advance the co-designing of solar landscapes: 1) Composing a vision for co-designed solar landscapes; 2) Defining criteria for environmental and socio-cultural objectives; 3) Facilitating early and inclusive participation of stakeholders; 4) Balancing stakes and stakeholders in decision-making; 5) Empowering the landscape architect; 6) Organizing quality control and monitoring; and 7) Establishing feedback mechanisms. These activities provide the foundations to advance SPP practices to realize environmental, and socio-cultural objectives while meeting techno-economic objectives and doing justice to local stakeholders, landscape, culture, and values. In other words, supporting practices that give rise to solar landscapes.