In recent years, biogas plants have become an important part of the energy transition, capable of converting waste and biomass into biogas. However, the efficiency and profitability of these biogas units influence their location. A trend towards co-location of these eco-innovations has been demonstrated, mainly due to the proximity of resources and the exchange of technical knowledge between neighboring units (mimicry effects). However, this proximity can also lead to increased competition for local resources, which can undermine the collective efficiency of facilities. This article aims to understand this trade-off by exploring how geographical proximity between units influences the siting of biogas units in the regions of Brittany,Normandy and Pays de la Loire. Using a spatial Durbin model, we examined the interactions between units and how these dynamics influence the factors affecting the probability of unit installation. Our results show that there are clusters of biogas units extending over some 17 kilometers. However, these effects are spatially limited: when units are too close, competition for resources limits their installations, while when they are too far apart, the effect disappears. 

Contemporary regional development is increasingly shaped by transition imperatives defined at national or supranational levels and implemented unevenly across local territories. The energy transition makes this tension especially visible, as climate and energy objectives are translated into infrastructures that concentrate landscape, symbolic and political burdens in specific places. This article examines whether onshore wind deployment is associated with changes in far-right voting in French municipalities, and how this relationship varies across project stages and neighbouring territories. We build a national panel of 34,448 municipalities over the 2007–2022 presidential cycles and combine electoral data with the official register of wind projects. The results show that far-right vote share rises around the permit stage, persists through construction and operation, and follows a territorial gradient, with stronger effects in host municipalities and smaller but positive effects in neighbouring municipalities. Deposit-only cases produce a short-lived uptick that fades, which suggests that project materialisation matters for durable electoral salience. The article interprets these patterns through territorial environmental justice and contributes to rethinking regional development by showing how nationally steered transition infrastructures can become electorally consequential when their territorial implementation is perceived as uneven. 

We measured the social acceptability of biogas units by estimating the effect of their location on real estate prices. This study was conducted in France between 2014 and 2021 and included a sample of more than 110,000 real estate transactions near 620 new biogas units. The methodology of difference-in-differences models enabled us to limit the bias of the results for units installed over several periods, while allowing us to conduct an event study. The results showed negative effects of rural biogas units on house prices within one kilometer; we found no effect beyond this distance. Our results suggest that only units located in rural areas have an effect on nearby sales and that this effect is moderate (around -5%). 

The development of Renewable Energies (RE) must be stepped up in the coming years if we are to successfully realise the ambitious energy transition challenge set by many governments across the globe. However, the energy transition is far from obvious, especially with regard to the social acceptability of RE. In this context, we used a Discrete Choice Experiment combined with a Geographical Information System to assess the willingness of individuals to switch to a more virtuous energy mix based on three energy sources (wind, photovoltaic and biogas). Our results show a dominant generational effect, indicating that young people are more likely to accept renewable energy in their neighborhoods. Furthermore, residents in areas with renewable energy with negative externalities (wind turbines and anaerobic digestion units) tend to have a lower Willingness to Pay than residents in other areas, which is what we call the principle of territorial distributive justice. There is no reason to believe that the difficulties in finding new locations for RE installations could fade away. Therefore, an increased effort of public policies to plan the location of future RE facilities in a more equitable way and always a better explanation and co-construction of new RE projects are needed. 

La méthanisation est de plus en plus perçue comme une solution clé pour atteindre les objectifs de transition énergétique, mais son acceptabilité sociale constitue un défi majeur. À partir d’une enquête menée auprès de 500 individus dans plusieurs communes françaises, cette étude analyse les facteurs influençant les attitudes du public à l’égard des projets de méthanisation. Les résultats montrent que les perceptions des bénéfices territoriaux, la taille des unités, la proximité géographique et la transparence des processus décisionnels jouent un rôle déterminant dans l’acceptabilité. L’opposition est particulièrement marquée chez les riverains vivant à moins d’un kilomètre des installations, tandis que la participation aux débats publics tend paradoxalement à renforcer les opinions négatives. Ces résultats soulignent l’importance d’adopter des politiques publiques et des stratégies adaptées, favorisant une meilleure communication et une implication citoyenne accrue pour intégrer durablement les projets de méthanisation dans les territoires.