Blowing against the winds of change? The relationship between anti-wind initiatives and wind turbines in Germany

This study analyzes the formation and spatial structure of anti-wind-farm citizens’ initiatives (CIs) as a result of the development of wind turbine generators (WT) in Germany over the last three decades. It offers a novel, spatiotemporal view of the intensely discussed tension between WT and citizens’ perceptions of them. Using a new dataset and employing survival models, the study explores for the first time the co-development of WT and anti-wind initiatives, considering a wide range of regional socio-economic factors and multiple periods. The results confirm a rapidly growing dynamic of the establishment of local opposition, which the magnitude of locally existing WT and proximity to established anti-wind farm initiatives strongly drives.