Renewable energy technologies in the Alpine landscape and local communities’ perception of change

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of social perception of landscape change connected to energy production from renewables, in an Alpine area. The Alpine regions have undergone extensive transformations in the last century, and energy has played a key role in socio-economic phenomena and in landscape change, because of the availability of oil products and the impact of hydroelectric plants. Currently, a variety of renewable energy technologies (RETs) are available, providing new opportunities for mountain areas but producing important effects on the landscape. Their use require a change in the frames of reference of the actors involved and a new perception of landscape values by local communities. The paper analyses how the insertion of RETs in the landscape of Trentino, in the Italian Alps, is impacting on the social perception. The methodology builds on the results of recent research conducted in the province of Trento on the perception of landscape characters. This allows identification of the values at stake when making use of a new technology in the open space, and analysis of how and why impacts are coherent with local communities’ perception of landscape. This analysis makes it possible to frame the crucial issues concerning use of such technologies in the Alpine landscape and to discuss how such a change is perceived, drawing some conclusions of general interest.