Social Acceptance for Decommissioning Offshore Wind Farms on the North Sea

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Abstract

Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs) have developed into an integral part of the European energy transition in the fight against climate change. The North Sea, with its excellent wind conditions and soil characteristics, as well as ports and industrial energy consumers nearby, has become the epicenter of offshore wind development. The coming years will mark the start of commercial OWFs reaching their end-of-life. As a result, OWF owners must consider decommissioning, which includes all measures performed to return an OWF site, close to its original state, as is reasonably practicable. This socially and academically relevant subject is studied in this thesis, which offers a multi-disciplinary view on the impact of partial and complete decommissioning. It uses an established scientific theory for social acceptance for renewable energy innovations and critically assesses its applicability. Ultimately, this thesis makes recommendations for the promotion of social acceptance for decommissioning OWFs.