Wind farms and their perceived impact on local landscapes : a comparative study between China and Norway

Abstract

It is widely recognized that developing of renewable energy is a good way to reduce carbon emissions. China has set ambitious goals to increase the use of wind power. Developing wind power in rural areas is also one of the most important strategies. But the rural areas are always viewed as real nature that have special landscapes and should be protected priority. This thesis mainly describes the different perspectives among Chinese and Norwegian university students towards the issue that how they think about the wind farms impact on local landscapes. The study is based on the data collected from survey of Chinese and Norwegian university students. The results show that there are some different views among them about the construction of wind farms in mountain areas determined by different attitudes, different aesthetic and different views on its impacts due to their very different cultural and education background. In addition, this study is also related to wind farms in Inner Mongolia, province in China and conflicts that have been caused by constructing a wind farm there.