HEG Geneva University of Neuchâtel

Applied research project

Wind farm on a mountain ridge
Thomas Galler / Unsplash

Research project · 2025–2028

PEP-Wind

Political and Economic Preferences regarding Wind Energy and its Deployment

What motivates Swiss households to support, or not support, wind energy? This project examines the factors driving the deployment of wind energy in Switzerland.

Project overview

This project examines the factors among the population that facilitate or hinder the deployment of wind energy in Switzerland. It focuses on household acceptance of wind energy projects and the policy measures that accompany them, as well as how risk perceptions influence this acceptance.

Through surveys, we identify the perceived risks that matter in current public debates about our future energy needs. We distinguish two dimensions of preferences and examine how they relate: a political dimension (the likelihood of voting in favour of specific measures, such as differentiated taxation between urban and rural areas) and an economic dimension (the compensation people would like to receive for wind energy installations).

To measure these preferences, we use specially designed experiments in which participants compare different scenarios. This approach allows us to observe the effect of information about certain risks, as well as the role of each participant’s energy literacy and environmental values.

Three risks at the heart of the study

  1. Price volatility
  2. Energy autonomy
  3. Nuclear energy
Wind turbine seen from below, blades and tower against the blue sky
Mont-Crosin (BE) · 03.12.2025

Project factsheet

Reference information, taken from the project entry in the Swiss Confederation’s ARAMIS database.

Title
Political and Economic Preferences regarding Wind Energy and its Deployment (PEP-Wind)
SFOE project no.
SI/502934
Status
Ongoing
Duration
01.05.2025 – 30.06.2028
Funding body
Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)
Budget
CHF 266’260.– (SFOE funding)
Research programme
Energy – Economy – Society (EES)
Type of research
Applied research and development
Applicant institution
Geneva School of Business Administration (HEG-Genève), HES-SO
Project leader
Prof. Sylvain Weber
Academic partner
University of Neuchâtel
Keywords
Wind energy; Political preferences; Economic behaviour; Attitudes towards risk; Renewable energy; Incentive instruments
ARAMIS entry
View the entry on aramis.admin.ch ↗

The surveys

At the heart of the project are two online surveys conducted with a representative sample of the Swiss population. They aim to understand the extent to which wind energy is considered acceptable and what influences this judgement.

Did you answer one of our questionnaires? Thank you! Every response counts towards producing reliable results that are useful for public debate and for energy policy decisions.

Mont-Crosin wind turbine behind a stone wall in winter
Mont-Crosin (BE) · 03.12.2025

Wave 1

Ongoing

October 2026

Around 1,000 respondents forming a representative sample of the Swiss population will be surveyed in collaboration with Intervista.

Wave 2

Upcoming

Mid-2027

Second survey of a representative sample of the Swiss population.

Results

2028

Project summary

The main results will be published on this page at the end of the project, in June 2028.

Documents

The questionnaire's reference documents are available here as PDF files.

Team and contacts

A project by

HEG Geneva University of Neuchâtel

Funded by

Swiss Confederation Swiss Federal Office of Energy
SFOE