Citizen participation in energy transition projects

Abstract

In 2021, many Dutch municipalities have started to transition away from fossil fuel sources towards more sustainable ones in order to achieve the goals set by the Parisian climate agreement of 2015. 2021 was also the year in which a new Omgevingswet was introduced in the Netherlands, in which citizen participation has become a very important pillar (Informatiepunt Leefomgeving, 2021). This, in combination with the increasing prominence of participation in the design field, means that citizen participation processes will be used more and more in projects across the country. Participation processes are processes in which citizens work together with local authorities and industry professionals. However, some challenges do exist in the usage of citizen participation for energy transition projects. One of these challenges is the occurrence of participation fatigue. Here, participants of the participation process become exhausted from working on the project and motivating them to still make useful contributions becomes more difficult. In light of this challenge, the research question this thesis aims to answer is the following: “What are the main characteristics and lessons learned from participation fatigue experienced by citizens in participation processes for public energy transition projects?”. The analysis of both qualitative and quantitative empirical data, resulted in the identification of five major categories of causes linked to the occurrence of participation fatigue. These findings were strengthened further through a quantitative analysis. The five categories were: 1) participation fatigue due to actions of and interactions with local governments and instances, 2) participation fatigue due to lack of results or slow progress in the process, 3) participation fatigue due to the intensity of the participation, 4) participation fatigue due to lack of enthusiasm of fellow citizens or organizations/businesses, and 5) participation fatigue due to lack of serious uptake of participants’ input. The report also delves into the possible solutions towards solving the issue of participation fatigue.