Abstract
This study focused on new pressures on water resources in relation to the production of renewable energy in Italy. In particular, I considered the conflicts that have emerged in the Trentino region around mini-hydroelectric power production. Literature critiquing the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) approach provided the basis for analyzing the characteristics of this opposition movement. I argue that the anti-mini-hydro movements only partially challenge the NIMBY definition. At the discursive level, such mobilizations articulate a broader discourse opposing mini-hydroelectric production as a climate change mitigation strategy and promoting a vision of the river as biodiversity to be protected. Moreover, at the sociospatial level, the anti-mini-hydro movements reveal an ability to forge alliances among different sectors of broader society. However, no broader discourse is articulated on the energy transition. The anti-mini-hydro movement can therefore be characterized as a form of “localist environmentalism” combining place attachment and nature conservation.
Highlights
Like other European countries, has committed to generating 28% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030
High-altitude rivers in Alpine valleys, which, until recently, were free from plants, are today affected by several requests for diversion for mini-hydro facilities, often involving smaller rivers not registered in the water protection plans and which cannot be controlled (Cozzarini 2018). Working from these premises, the key research questions I addressed are: Does the movement opposing minihydroelectric power production challenge the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) label it is often given by proponents of the renewable energy facilities? If so, in which ways does it do so? I begin by outlining the theoretical and methodological framework of my research based on a critique of the NIMBY concept
Many social scientists have argued, based on empirical research in the context of renewable energy sources, that the NIMBY concept is a misleading way of understanding local objections
Summary
I considered the conflicts that have emerged in the Trentino region around mini-hydroelectric power production. I argue that the anti-mini-hydro movements only partially challenge the NIMBY definition. At the discursive level, such mobilizations articulate a broader discourse opposing minihydroelectric production as a climate change mitigation strategy and promoting a vision of the river as biodiversity to be protected. At the sociospatial level, the anti-mini-hydro movements reveal an ability to forge alliances among different sectors of broader society. No broader discourse is articulated on the energy transition. The anti-mini-hydro movement can be characterized as a form of ‘‘localist environmentalism’’ combining place attachment and nature conservation
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