Opposing out loud versus supporting in silence: who wants to participate in decision-making about energy projects?

Public participation in decision-making is widely expected to contribute to democratic society, better decisions, and higher public acceptability of energy projects. The realization of the desired functions of public participation depends, however, on who participates in decision-making. In opinion surveys about two planned wind parks in the Netherlands, we found that opponents were more willing to participate than supporters. Those who would not accept the project under any conditions were more motivated to participate than those who may accept the project if certain conditions were met. Furthermore, motivation to participate was associated with stronger negative emotions towards the project (e.g. angry, disappointed), and weaker positive emotions (e.g. happy, proud). Taken together, public preferences to participate in decision-making can affect the desired functions of public participation, as not everyone will equally participate. Our findings have important implications for energy policies primarily focusing on demographic representativeness in participation: it is also important to consider the representation of different perspectives in decision-making. Also, incorporating people’s different emotions towards energy projects can be a valuable route to effective public participation, in addition to the dominating rationalistic approach.