Vanja Međugorac

Abstract

Social acceptance of energy system policies and technologies is a critical prerequisite for a
successful energy transition. This thesis explored the social acceptance of energy-system-
related policies and technologies at different levels and units of analysis, following different
philosophical and methodological perspectives. Building on recent conceptual developments
that emphasize the role of institutions in shaping social acceptance processes, the thesis
investigated public, community and stakeholder acceptance, focusing on institutional
frameworks of ownership and governance in Ireland. It comprises three empirical studies
based on a mixed-methods research design.

Study 1 explored sociotechnical imaginaries of renewable energy ownership models through
semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from industry, academia, civil society, and the
public sector in Ireland. Contentions among different societal actors over desirable
renewable energy ownership models have been documented in the literature. The aim of this
study was to explore those contentions and understand the extent to which they are
contingent upon different imaginaries of the public. Stakeholders’ acceptance was analysed
on a general policy level, revealing societal processes through which sociotechnical
imaginaries of renewable energy ownership models get co-produced along with imaginaries
of the public.

The remaining two quantitative studies investigated the role of psychological processes in
public and community acceptance of policies and technologies, whereby the mentioned
relationships were observed in the context of ownership and governance structures.
Study 2 compared the predictive capacities of two dimensions of psychological ownership
over water systems — individual and collective — in explaining public acceptance of water
system management policies among users of water supply systems that differ in formal
ownership structures. The results of an online survey suggested that the social and
institutional arrangements associated with management of water systems underpinned the
relationship between the dimensions of psychological ownership and public acceptance of
policies.

Study 3 explored the role of collective psychological ownership and place-technology fit over
renewable energy developments in explaining community acceptance of top-down and
bottom-up governance approaches to renewable energy developments. A survey-based field
study conducted in a community in the Irish Midlands revealed that community acceptance
of renewable energy developments is higher under bottom-up than top-down governance
approaches as they strengthen feelings of collective psychological ownership and
perceptions of place-technology fit.

Overall, the empirical studies in this thesis highlight the significance of institutional context in
understanding the social acceptance of energy system policies and technologies, provide
theoretical insights into the psychological mechanisms underlying social acceptance, and
offer practical policy recommendations.