Abstract
Onshore wind farms in the Netherlands are increasing. While this provides a renewable energy
source, it also has side social and environmental impacts, with impacts on bird populations being one
of the main issues. The public is concerned about bird strikes, habitat loss and bird migration, which
in turn can affect the social acceptance of wind farms. Experts increasingly engage citizens in setting
up these wind farm projects in order to remove these concerns. This thesis focuses on how experts
engage with citizen concerns about birds. To answer this question, this thesis used documentationand literature research as well as interviews with experts from energy companies, ecological
consultancy firms and governmental organisations. These experts were interviewed as they are
involved in carrying out wind energy projects. To explore citizen engagement, this thesis focused on
three different engagement modes: information sharing, co-production and citizen science, which
were chosen based on literature research. The modes of engagement are aimed at different groups
of citizens and include or exclude expert and citizen knowledge in different ways. In practice, it was
found that information-sharing and co-production were used by experts. Experts most commonly
relied on information-sharing. Furthermore, they considered citizen science to be not feasible. This
thesis also shows that wind energy experts generally think citizen engagement has many benefits
(including commitment and enriched knowledge) but also has several obstacles (including
knowledge, time and efficiency). This thesis ends with recommendations for experts in practice
including experts working with smaller groups, providing accessible materials to citizens, clearly
defining roles, and reaching a broader audience. Further research should focus on digital platforms,
the role of local nature organisations and how citizen empowerment programmes can be applied.