Energy crisis and social acceptance of offshore wind–A before-and-after analysis

Have Russia's attack on Ukraine, restrictions on natural gas trade and the resulting surge in European energy prices changed our preferences for offshore wind and the exchange of energy and capital between countries? Comparing two nationwide discrete choice experiments among 1600 randomly selected Norwegians in December 2020 and 2023, we show: (1) People's preference for offshore over onshore locations is substantially lowered. (2) People's preference for domestic over foreign ownership stays high but is reduced. (3) People's preference for domestic use over export is increased, but only among those exposed to recent price hikes. Thus, while international investors have become more welcome, there is a stronger emphasis on mature technologies and market solutions that ensure a secure supply of cheap energy in the short term. Based on these results, we present and discuss conditions that any country should meet to ensure social acceptance for an international offshore wind sector during an energy crisis. We conclude that balanced policies that provide market-based solutions and take care of distributional effects are needed to ensure social acceptance of a more internationalised and innovative offshore wind energy sector. • Have preferences for wind energy changed after the European energy crisis began?. • We find enthusiasm for offshore vs onshore wind is markedly lower. • People have become less sceptical of foreign investors. • People exposed to price hikes have become more sceptical about export. • We use the results to discuss how countries should meet energy crises.