Placing Energy Development in a Local Context: Exploring the Origins of Rural Community Perspectives

There is a growing need for sustainable energy development to meet domestic and international demand for electricity and fuel generation. A critical component in energy systems development is support from the public, particularly the acceptance of these technologies among local populations. The goal of this study is to examine how locally affected populations view energy developments, especially with regard to community and place (ties to the area and local relationships). In-depth, face-to-face interviews and community observation were employed to better understand how residents in a rural Canadian community perceive of potential energy development in their locale. Our findings demonstrate that the unique combinations of local characteristics across rural communities are likely to have a bearing on the support for or opposition to energy development in those areas. Residents' perceptions of energy systems are influenced by the intersection of local values, community relationships and place attachment. We present a framework of the intersecting factors that influenced community perceptions in the study location and discuss how the framework can be used to better anticipate and understand the origins of rural community perspectives of energy development.