The mission of the IEA Wind Implementing Agreement is to stimulate co-operation on wind energy research and development and to provide high quality information and analysis to member governments and commercial sector leaders by addressing technology development and deployment and its benefits, markets, and policy instruments.
Sometimes referred to as "soft issues" to differentiate them from technology aspects, environmental and societal issues have become pivotal to the deployment of wind energy in many countries. Even where the economics of wind energy are favorable, deployment can only occur when the public and the planning authorities accept the technology. This requires an appreciation of the benefits of wind energy that weigh against any local visual and environmental effects. The evaluation of this balance is often complicated by is subjective nature and by the circulation of misinformation. The IEA Wind Implementing Agreement will take steps to assess the value of ongoing collaborative activities against strong national variations in policies and processes.
The Strategic Plan of the IEA Wind agreement summarizes the
issues of Social Acceptance as follows:
- Key Issues:
Environmental and societal issues: effects on flora and fauna, visual influence
- Forward Plan:
Evaluate collaboration on societal issues
- Action Path:
Develop initiative to address societal issues and to determine the level of commonality and value of a collaborative program.
