Perception of biogas plants: A public awareness and preference - A case study for the agricultural landscape

Abstract

The energy transition and the EU's ambitious policies require member countries to find socially acceptable solutions. One possible solution is agricultural biogas plants. However, research on public acceptance of biogas plants has been a small part of the research on renewable energy sources. The aims of the article were to (I) examine the public awareness of agricultural biogas plants, (II) analyze the public opinion on the perception of biogas plants in a diverse landscape, and (III) perform visual assessment of the landscape with an existing biogas plant based on investments from Poland. A combination of methodological approaches was used to achieve the aims: survey research and visual assessment. Survey research was used to investigate the public awareness and perception of biogas plants in a diverse landscape. Visual assessment of operating biogas plant in the rural landscape was performed using the JAR-WAK landscape evaluation method. The conducted research showed that, according to the respondents, the biggest disadvantage of biogas plants is odors, and the greatest benefit is the production of energy and heat. The surveyed people also negatively perceived landscapes with biogas plants. However, the visual assessment for operating a biogas plant indicated no negative impact on the landscape.