Towards social acceptance of geothermal energy power plants

Social acceptance is practically a prerequisite for the promotion and successful implementation of geothermal power production projects. Achieving social acceptance can empower trust between the developers/ operators and the local communities, reduce costly reactions/ conflicts/ time delays and strengthen companies’ acceptance in relation to the implementation of the project. In order to achieve social acceptance, it is required to guarantee that local communities agree with the implementation of the project. The present study aims to present a framework including the best practices related to achieving social acceptance of geothermal power plant projects, taking into account all the work presented so far worldwide. The three pillars of this framework are a) engagement, b) prevention of drastic changes to the existing conditions and c) provision of benefits to the local communities.