Reumo
Wind energy has experienced significant advancement in recent years, establishing itself as a central topic on the global political agenda in response to the growing demand for renewable energy sources. This growth has garnered interest not only from public policy but also from the academic community. Wind energy is considered the first renewable energy source to achieve economic viability, capable of generating electricity at costs comparable to conventional sources, which has been crucial for its global adoption. Specifically concerning offshore wind energy (OWE), more research has been devoted to studying the current state of technology and future trends in offshore wind farms, discussing technological advancements, challenges, and future prospects. In the Brazilian context, although studies on OWE are still limited and the country lacks experience in its installation, onshore wind energy has already established itself as an important source in the national energy matrix. In Northeast Brazil, favorable wind conditions have led to successive records in wind energy generation in recent years. In this context, the present research aims to identify the factors that influence stakeholder acceptance of OWE implementation. The stakeholder approach underscores the importance of considering the broad interests of those involved in or affected by a project or enterprise. This approach is fundamental to supporting the management of complex environments and actions, highlighting the relevance of the various interests at play. Collective and diffuse interests, including local communities, environmental groups, and government agencies, are directly affected by energy projects. By prioritizing stakeholder engagement and considering their interests, developers can create OWE projects that are socially and environmentally responsible. In this sense, the effective planning, development, and operation of OWE farms depend on robust governance. In addition to consulting local communities to address issues such as environmental impact and maritime space occupation, this management can help companies and governments identify key stakeholders, understand their expectations and needs, and work towards establishing transparent agreements and mutual benefits. From this perspective, cooperation among stakeholders is essential for the development of OWE, as it involves decision-making based on principles of good governance. A survey was conducted with various stakeholders, including residents, business owners, fishers, and researchers from the beaches of Acaraú, Caucaia, Cruz, Itarema, and Trairi, located in the western region of the state of Ceará. The questionnaire was created and distributed to stakeholders in the field (sample = 29). The structure of the questionnaire included, in addition to the question on OWE acceptance, items based on three dimensions considered predictors of acceptance: personal characteristics (model 1), knowledge about OWE (model 2), and perception of impacts (model 3). With the responses obtained, a logistic regression analysis was performed using SPSS software. This modeling allowed for the estimation of coefficients indicating the average effect on the probability of the event of interest, in this case, the acceptance of OWE. The three models fit the collected data satisfactorily. The Variance Inflation Factor values for each independent variable were below 5.0, indicating the absence of multicollinearity. Models (1) and (3) performed better than model (2), which did not show significance in the ?² goodness-of-fit test. Additionally, models (1) and (3) demonstrated higher overall efficiency, with correct prediction rates exceeding 75%, as well as higher pseudo-R² (Nagelkerke) values. In model (1), which addresses personal characteristics, household income was the only significant variable, showing a positive effect. It was observed that the higher the household income, the greater the probability of accepting the installation of OWE. Specifically, the odds ratio increase by more than 882% for each shift in the considered income strata. In contrast, in model (3), which deals with impact perceptions, the belief that OWE will limit access to fishing areas reduced the likelihood of acceptance by almost 95%. On the other hand, the perception that the implementation of OWE could generate job opportunities increased the chances of acceptance by over 541%. The positive effects of household income on OWE acceptance suggest important insights. Individuals involved in activities that provide higher income may be more inclined to accept the installation of OWE, in contrast to traditional, lower-income populations such as fishers. The lack of significance of the variables related to knowledge on OWE may indicate a lack of broad stakeholder engagement in the discussion concerning the use of the sea for OWE, which is often limited to political agents and sector companies. This research contributed to the understanding of the factors influencing stakeholder acceptance of OWE farm installations, focusing on the coast of Ceará as a case study. Among personal characteristics, household income level was found to have a significant influence on acceptance. None of the variables related to knowledge about OWE showed statistical significance in determining stakeholder acceptance. Regarding the impact perception dimension, the identification of a potential restriction on access to fishing areas demonstrated a negative effect on acceptance, while the perception of emerging job opportunities had a positive effect. These results should be interpreted with caution, particularly due to an important limitation of the research: the small sample size. For future research, it is recommended to conduct interviews in addition to the questionnaire to capture issues related to experience, local context, and the future expectations of stakeholders.