Examining the influence of public participation on public acceptance of nuclear power plants: the case study of Qinshan NPP, China

In the post-Fukushima accident era, the participation of local residents and their acceptance of nuclear power plants (NPPs) have become significant issues. Using the case of Qinshan NPP in China, this study examined the factors affecting public acceptance of NPPs and explored the ways in which public participation affects the public acceptance of NPPs through structural equation modeling. We found that public participation promotes public acceptance of NPPs through various paths, and there exist intermediary factors, namely trust and risk perception. Public participation improves the public acceptance of NPPs indirectly by increasing trust and decreasing risk perception. Trust can directly improve the public acceptance of NPPs and indirectly influence it through benefit perception and risk perception. In this study, we also proposed recommendations for policy and practice to enhance the level of public acceptance of NPPs.