Abstract
In this paper, a framework is proposed which aims at including social acceptance as an integral component of planning of large scale technologies. To date, social acceptance is often considered only in the final stage of the planning process, if at all. It will be argued that acceptance-relevant factors should be integrated during the whole process in order to include the public and coordinate acceptance and planning in combination. In order to achieve this, a social gap in the planning of complex energy infrastructure needs to be closed. The social gap presents itself in a twofold manner: one issue is the critical analysis of the general measurability of acceptance factors referring to the question if it is possible to operationalize and predict social acceptance reliably. The second “gap” refers to the lack of integration of results from acceptance research into current planning procedures. Taking wind farm planning as an example, the two gaps are discussed and a new, integrative planning model is advocated. Finally, requirements for a user-centered planning procedure are derived.