RES

Issue

With the Government considering significant changes to planning law, RES, one of the world's leading renewable energy developers, needed to understand how wind farms were perceived in the UK’s rural communities. RES needed to gain both a robust national picture and a nuanced understanding of the views of those living closest to existing and proposed wind farms.

Solution

Populus designed a two-stage research programme. First, Populus conducted a series of focus groups across carefully chosen locations; some with long-established wind farms, some with proposed but as yet unbuilt wind farms, and some located far from any existing wind farms. A series of projective techniques and stimulus materials were used to allow the full range of views to be expressed. Second, Populus conducted a large-scale 5,000 sample telephone poll to quantify the insights gained at the focus group stage. This survey, conducted across the UK’s four nations, targeting only those living in ONS defined rural areas.

Outcome

RES gained a rich understanding of how wind farms were perceived across the UK and how these views differed regionally and between differing groups. This information has been used to inform and target RES’s communications. Additionally, the research has been presented by RES to DECC and other government stakeholders to further its case in relation to the proposed planning changes.