Abstract

Situated in the real-world context of renewable energy, this study investigated the association between group-level autonomy and the social acceptance of deep geothermal energy technology. The study placed particular emphasis on examining the mediating role of grouplevel procedural fairness (i.e., procedural justice climate) and social identity violation, while also examining the role of collective self-determined motivations to accept the energy technology. Results showed that (i) social identity violation had an important role in directly predicting the acceptance of geothermal technology and in moderating the effect of a mediation path from group-level autonomy to social acceptance via procedural justice climate and that (ii) collective self-determination mediated the relationship between community members’ experience of group-level autonomy and social acceptance. We discuss how considering collective processes might lead to a better understanding of the key drivers underlying the social acceptance of sustainable energy technologies, and might inform public engagement