O’Shaughnessy et al.: Energy Justice Implications of Renewable Energy Project Siting
In Drivers and Energy Justice Implications of Renewable Energy Project Siting in the United States, Eric O’Shaughnessy, Ryan Wiser, Ben Hoen, Joseph Rand, and Salma Elmallah (all of Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory) explore renewable energy siting and questions of energy justice as they affect under-resourced, rural communities. Wind turbine and solar panel siting has emerged as a principal challenge in the deployment of renewable energy. The report analyzes census data and renewable energy project siting data to identify technoeconomic factors such as resource quality and access to undeveloped spaces that drive wind and solar energy siting patterns to areas with particular demographic characteristics. However, the report’s primary contribution is its consideration of the implications for energy justice and how project siting affects host communities.
The authors find that technoeconomic factors often correlate to regions of low population density and, to a lesser extent, lower income. However, they avoid broad generalizations about the implications of this finding on the affected areas and instead discuss why local impacts of siting are ambiguous and contextual. The authors synthesize research on project impacts and identify perspectives that find projects negative, neutral, or beneficial to communities.
Unsurprisingly, the report confirms that technoeconomic factors will continue to drive renewable energy towards rural areas. However, the positive or negative impact of rural wind and solar siting may differ depending on context and community perspectives. This report calls for additional research to identify what drives local impact and perception of projects. Specifically, the authors call for additional research into how projects can be structured to maximize the benefits of hosting renewable energy over the burdens. The report serves as a foundation for further considerations of the energy justice implications of renewable energy siting.
This digest was written by Ryan McKeever, a rising third-year student at the University of Nebraska College of Law. This digest was prepared as part of Professor Jessica Shoemaker's Rural Lands Seminar.
