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The polarization of energy preferences – A study on social acceptance of wind and nuclear power attitudes in Sweden
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8950-6854
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Health, Education and Technology, Health, Medicine and Rehabilitation. Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7584-2275
Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4993-5491
Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2637-2024
2025 (English)In: Energy Policy, ISSN 0301-4215, E-ISSN 1873-6777, Vol. 198, article id 114492Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Using Sweden as a study case, this article explores the polarized opinions to wind and nuclear energy, two low carbon energy options that have been shown to be politically controversial. In a wide-scale survey (N = 5200), general attitudes to wind and nuclear energy are captured, as well as to projects in the proximity of people's homes. The study demonstrates a deep polarization of energy preferences in Sweden, finding strong associations between worldviews, political orientation, environmental concern, and support for or resistance to wind and nuclear energy. The study concludes that support for both energy options is reduced when wind or nuclear power is constructed near people's home, but also suggests that the proximity effect is particularly strong for individuals with strong TAN (traditional, authoritarian, nationalistic) values and right leaning political ideology. The article argues that politically motivated reasoning might explain the polarization of attitudes, yet this effect seems to become less relevant when people are asked to judge potential energy infrastructure located close them.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2025. Vol. 198, article id 114492
Keywords [en]
Energy policy, Nuclear energy, Wind energy, Renewable energy, Public acceptance, Social Dominance Orientation, Socio-technical systems, Motivated reasoning
National Category
Energy Systems Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-111272DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114492OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-111272DiVA, id: diva2:1926489
Funder
Mistra - The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, DIA 2019/28]Swedish Research Council Formas, 2021-00416
Note

Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-01-13 (sarsun);

Full text license: CC BY 4.0;

Available from: 2025-01-13 Created: 2025-01-13 Last updated: 2025-01-13Bibliographically approved

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Sörqvist, Patrik

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
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