Who powers alpine photovoltaic projects? Fostering stakeholder engagement for energy democracy in Switzerland

Large-scale renewable energy infrastructures are increasingly deployed in sensitive and contested landscapes, where project development depends not only on technical feasibility but also on how affected stakeholders are engaged in decision-making. Alpine photovoltaic projects in Switzerland are a particularly relevant case, as they are promoted to address energy security while raising concerns over land use, environmental protection, landscape change, and local decision-making. This study examines stakeholder engagement during the planning phase of Swiss alpine photovoltaic projects, understood as the period from site selection and municipal approval until the granting of the building permit. Using energy democracy as an analytical lens, it investigates how engagement strategies shape stakeholders' influence on large-scale renewable energy infrastructure development. This study applies a transdisciplinary methodological approach, combining document analysis, collaborative stakeholder analysis, semi-structured interviews, and a workshop with project developers across 17 large-scale alpine photovoltaic projects. The findings show a complex stakeholder landscape in which local communities, municipalities, energy utilities and project developers hold decision-making power. Engagement is uneven across project phases. Early and transparent engagement builds trust and enables meaningful input, particularly during site selection, whereas late involvement and declining communication after municipal votes lead to conflict and undermine trust. Time pressure and technical uncertainty further prioritise rapid project development over continuous engagement. The findings show that energy democracy in large-scale renewable energy projects does not necessarily require full community ownership. Instead, it depends on transparent, continuous, and well-timed stakeholder engagement throughout the planning phase.