An energy union without interconnections? Public acceptance of cross-border interconnectors in four European countries

By addressing the public acceptance of cross-border energy interconnections, the article aims to contribute to the existing literature on their linkages of said interconnections with the European energy policy-making process, deriving specific policy implications to foster cross-border interconnections and energy integration within the EnU. The variables are retrieved from a set of questions included in the survey regarding the socio-demographic festures (sex, age, education and occupation), residence (country of residence and size of the population), and political preferences of the participants.

We additionally create a variable measuring the proximity of the respondent to a cross-border interconnection substation, for a total of eight dependent variables. Using the postal codes of respondents, survey data was matched with the area of influence of the substations. Hence, it is possible to know if the respondents live in a level 3 NUTS region located in the area of influence of a cross-border interconnection substation.1 It may be expected that respondents living in these areas of influence will be better acquainted with interconnections, showing greater awareness and understanding.

Methodology: Online survey