Consensus building among local stakeholders is vital for the success of the proposed initial commercial marine renewable energy (MRE) projects in Japan. Even though the literature on stakeholder acceptance highlights the importance of creating local benefits and co-creation options, very few studies and almost no empirical data have been published on the application of non-monetary benefit creation schemes in the context of MRE. Hence, the purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the possible co-existence options available for Japan’s MRE projects through data collected from interviews and questionnaire surveys in two development sites in Nagasaki and Kitakyushu in Southern Japan. To overcome the limitations of data unavailability and uncertainty, the Dempster Shafer Analytic Hierarchy Process (DS-AHP) was used for evaluating the best co-existence strategy out of five potential options. The results indicate that local fisheries prefer the oceanographic information sharing option whereas most of the other stakeholders prefer using local resources to construct and operate the power plant, creating business involvement opportunities for the local community. Analysis of stakeholders’ decision behaviors suggests that perceived impacts, knowledge, and values influence the preference decision. In addition to the validation of stakeholder preference of the previously proposed co-existence options with empirical data, this study provides a robust method to further evaluate the potential options with the availability of new data.

Background: Public awareness is crucial for successful deployment of tidal energy, a renewable energy source that can provide clean electricity to remote islands. However, considering public attitudes on tidal energy are not well known, especially in developing countries, a barrier exists in implementing public engagement strategies. This study aims to contribute by identifying strategies for information provision—the initial step in public engagement—and estimate how these can be engaged to enhance support for tidal energy among the local public in a remote area of a developing country, in this case, Flores Timur Regency, Indonesia, considering their socio-cultural background. Methods: In this paper, we employ statistical analyses using multinomial probit modelling to identify the key variables that shape information flow. The aptness of the variables is then verified using post-estimation techniques for their use as input parameters for the simulation of the information flow in the field study area. Agent-based simulation (ABS) is employed to replicate the actual conditions in Flores Timur Regency, Indonesia, and simulate the flow of information through the local community. Results: According to the multinomial probit estimations, the people belonging to the top hierarchical group show a higher probability to support tidal energy compared to the members belonging to the lower groups. Understandably, around twice as many information flow cycles are needed to disseminate information to the members of the lowest hierarchical group, compared to the members of the top hierarchical group. The results also show that increasing the amount of available information has a positive impact on information dissemination. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that information provision is highly effective with propagation of information that specifically highlights the individual benefits, rather than the community benefits of tidal energy. Additionally, savings in terms of costs, time, and efforts can be realized if the most influential members of the local community are targeted initially before including all other stakeholders. The study also indicated that locals absorb more information and increase their support for tidal energy when additional data is made available. Finally, as long-term strategy, information provision becomes most effective when the local population gains higher educational capabilities.

Climate change and increasing population growth are accelerating the need for new clean renewable energy generation. One such proposed type of renewable energy is offshore floating wind, which has yet to reach a convergence as to the optimum type of floating platform to support a wind turbine. To date there has been numerous proposals of novel floating platforms with unique hull