I am also working on a collaboration with the ETH Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS) group and the Swiss Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research . The Energyscape project uses state of the art virtual/acoustic simulations and real-time physiological recording (i.e., electrodermal activity) to investigate the preferences for different renewable energy interventions in the Swiss landscape. In this study, participants were exposed to Swiss landscapes that varied in terms of the type (i.e., wind and solar) and amount of renewable energy interventions. We showed that the extent of renewable interventions but not necessarily the type has direct implications on popular acceptance and physiological arousal (i.e., stress). Interestingly, physiological arousal was also associated with political orientation. Results from this project are currently being prepared for publication in the Journal of Environmental Psychology and will serve as the basis for recommendations for our partners at the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and the Federal Office for the Environment.

ENERGYSCAPE_2.png