How does one assess the benefit to society of the establishment of wind power?

The Swedish Energy Agency has given a grant of SK1.2 millions to a research group at Gävle University that is to develop models that can be used as decision support when assessing the benefit to society of the establishment of wind power.

The benefit to society

“At Gävle University research is conducted on decision-making from a broad perspective. For example models are developed where weighing of interests is taken into account and the decision-making it is studied from the how it is regulated by legal and other norms,” Ulla Ahonen-Jonnarth, lecturer in Computer Engineering.

The new project is financed within the frame of the research programme Vindval, which is a cooperative project between the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The project shall amongst other things identify how the term ‘benefit to society’ is handled in the licensing procedure with regard to the establishment of new wind power sites.

The licensing procedure is a complex decision-making process where the sum of benefits to society shall be weighed against the total costs, such as, for example, the negative influence on the local environment.

Unequivocal licensing procedures

The research group shall now develop models that can be used as decision support when assessing the benefit to society of the establishment of wind power;

models where the decision-making process is to be structured and systematic, comprehensible to everybody.

- The Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency formed the opinion that the issue is of the utmost importance, that our project plan is of good quality and that the research group has substantial competence.

-The aim is to create a process where licensing procedures are made more comprehensible and more transparent.

Increased research affiliation

- We now get an opportunity to show how the research that is pursued within the subject group can be used to study up-to-date social issues.

- The practical cases that we come into contact with, within the framework of the project, can later be used as examples on courses and in that way further increase the research affiliation.

For further information, please contact:
Ulla Ahonen-Jonnarth, lecturer in Computer Engineering at the University of Gävle
Tel: 026-64 89 79
Email: ulla.ahonen-jonnarth@hig.se

Text: Douglas Öhrbom