The Energy Transition as a Design Task: Wind Energy Planning and Design Strategies and Principles Based on the European Landscape Convention

Abstract

Planning policies often seek to concentrate the “impact” of renewable energy in supposedly “worthless” landscapes by differentiating them according to their scenic “value”—rather than contributing to the new beauty of all types of landscapes by integrating the new elements into different types. The selection of wind turbine sites guided by these planning policies and the subsequent landscape changes have exacerbated public concerns and negative opinions of renewable energy development, which hinders the progress of the energy transition. According to the European Landscape Convention (ELC), all landscapes are valuable, subject to change, and require good design. This article suggests, from the perspective of landscape architecture, that renewable energies represent new scales in the landscape, but can also be perceived as closely connected to nature. The ELC-based design strategies for landscapes with wind turbines in European regions have been discussed, demonstrating that new, shared, professional conventions have emerged to connect the new dimensions and natures of renewable energy with existing landscape morphologies and infrastructure. Adhering to the new principles of the wind energy landscape design, landscape architects can collaborate with citizens involved in the planning process to translate their input into design language and diverse concepts. This positive planning and design approach exhibits the potential to contribute to the mitigation of social conflicts through the integration of energy infrastructure into everyday spaces and cultural landscapes.

Keywords

European Landscape Convention / Wind Turbine / Design Strategy / Renewable Energy / Energy Landscape

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2025 Higher Education Press