Environmental issues are a fertile ground for research in the social studies of science and technology [1] and socio-technical controversies are one of its key topics. From nuclear power plants to electromagnetic fields, from GMOs to climate change, a great deal of studies and publications has been done in this area. <p>Energy issues are among the most pressing challenges for society but also for research in the social sciences. The threat of climate change and the depletion of traditional energy sources have pushed countries to increasingly adopt alternative renewable sources of energy. And unlike other energy generating technologies (biofuels, hydroelectric dams, fossil fuel and nuclear power plants), which have been sources of contention and conflict, wind and solar energies seem to be fairly consensual. The proponents of renewable energy facilities often take social support for granted as they perceived them to be &lsquo;clean', &lsquo;green' and, somehow an extension of traditional technologies (e.g. wind and water mills) [2].</p><p>At the EU level, strong directives and rhetoric promoting renewable energies are noticeable and most national countries follow suit, implementing legislation and providing incentives [3]. Even large scale public opinion surveys seem to show an overwhelming support for these technologies (see, for example, the 2007 Eurobarometer on Energy Technologies and [4]).</p><p>However, this overall picture of a fairly prevailing social consensus is marred by local controversies and opposition to specific siting of facilities.</p><p>Although solar power plants are far less frequent in Europe and far less researched, with the exception of Spain [5, 6], the literature is rife with studies on the strong opposition to wind farms in the UK [7, 8], France [9], Germany [10], the Netherlands [11, 12], Sweden [13], Greece [14]. This resistance has been motivated by issues such as noise pollution, health concerns, environmental risks (bird and bat mortality), but especially the perception of rural landscapes ruined by overbearing technological artefacts, which have symbolic as well as economic consequences, over tourism and property value [2, 12, 15]. This has motivated abundant research on issues such as the social gap between general support and local resistance [8, 12, 13], the policy responses to public resistance [9, 11, 15], and factors for social acceptance [16, 17, 18]. In the field of studies of science, research on this issue is less profuse and focused on the interplay between experts and the public in the planning process [19, 20].</p><p>Remarkably, this issue has hardly been studied in Portugal. So far, only a case study has been done, as part of an international project, focused on the controversy generated by a wind farm proposal in a protected area that was not built [21].</p><p>And yet, researching the consensus and controversies surrounding renewable energies production in Portugal is particularly relevant.</p><p>On the one hand, traditionally heavily dependent on energy imports (mainly fossil fuels), Portugal has some of the most favourable conditions in Europe for the production of solar and wind energies and in the last few years a noteworthy political and economic investment has been made in this area, in line with EU targets (20/20/20). Currently, renewable energies account for around half of energy production in Portugal (though only 16.7 per cent from wind power and 0.4 per cent from solar energy). However, little is known on the political and social process behind this investment.</p><p>On the other hand, unlike other countries, consensus seems to prevail even at the local level. Between 2005 and 2010, 92 per cent of wind farms subjected to Environmental Impact Assessment were approved. However, there have also been protests made by local population and ENGOs and these controversies require a closer attention, since many more of these facilities are expected to be built in the coming years (some in new types of location, with the potential of generating further conflict).</p><p>Additionally, previous studies on scientific and environmental issues (some by members of this team) in Portugal point to some specific traits that make it worthy of study. First, the particular nature of relations between science and policy, marked by the resort to scientific advice to justify political decisions already made and an unwillingness to open the debates on scientific and technological controversies to citizens [22]. The relationship between S&amp;T and the public is also quite problematic. Despite a serious investment in public understanding of science activities and a bourgeoning scientific system, results of opinion surveys show persistently low levels of information and interest on scientific and environmental issues but also unusually high degrees of trust in science [23, 24].</p><p>Second, Portugal has a weak civil society, with low political participation levels, but in environmental issues there is already a long tradition of mobilisation and protest, that shows that in matters that concern them directly, citizens are willing to complain, to take part in deliberation, to search for information and to use scientific arguments to uphold their positions [25, 26, 27].</p><p>Finally, the rural location of most energy facilities draws attention to the particular economic and social situation of the countryside in Portugal. Rural areas are most affected by population decline and ageing, low literacy levels, low income and economic deprivation in consequence of agriculture's decline and political marginalisation. However, they are also increasingly valued for environmental, consumption and leisure reasons [28, 29, 30]. And this sets the conditions for generating particular tensions in response to the placement of these &quot;alien&quot; technological artefacts, particularly wind devices that cannot be easily hidden, thus representing huge disturbances on the countryside landscape.</p>