ABSTRACT
As a ‘clean’ means of generating energy, wind turbines may appear to symbolise sustainable development. At the same time, their construction is a source of debate in many countries, especially in terms of landscape damage (Chell, 1993; Mercer, 2003; Möller, 2006). Protests against the installation of new wind farms provide a good backdrop against which to examine links between the notions of landscape and sustainable development. Our hypothesis is that these two notions, rather than opposing each other, mutually redefine themselves due to these protests. Our analysis, therefore, distances itself from the ‘nimbyist’ approach, still widely used in attempts to explain social conflicts on the subject of energy, despite increased criticism (Wolsink, 2000; Devine-Wright, 2005b).
