Resistance to renewable energy is often described as anti-environmentalist with links to right-wing politics, climate skepticism and hostility to environmentalism. Although it is tempting to characterize local opposition to wind power in this way we dig more deeply into local concerns about wind power. Two questions are at the heart of this analysis. First, is it fair to characterize wind power opposition in Alberta as anti-environmentalist? Second, depending on how we answer this question, what are the implications for making progress on renewable energy? Based on interviews with 36 people who were closely associated with wind power development in Alberta, Canada, we show that local resistance to wind power is, in different ways, simultaneously environmentalist and anti-environmentalist. This research makes visible a more nuanced set of public concerns about wind energy development, with a view to recognizing (rather than dismissing) these concerns, and working towards more acceptable forms of renewable energy development.
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