Resource Type: Social Science Research

Local residents have common concerns about large-scale solar (LSS) projects. Residents’ most common concerns are associated with either LSS development processes or impacts, and center on the type and amount of information provided, the community’s influence over project design, the efficacy of community subscription efforts, as well as projects’ economic, environmental, and visual and landscape impacts. This research is based on 54 interviews with a broad set of stakeholders including residents, officials and developers at seven LSS sites across the US. Some strategies have been employed to improve perceptions and project outcomes, which include increasing in-person engagement, more explicit discussion of project tradeoffs, third-party intermediaries acting as community champions, and explicit requirements for meaningful local economic benefits.

Freezing temperatures and skyrocketing energy costs are knocking on our doors again in Texas, and conversations about reliable renewable energy projects are once again emerging. This has us thinking quite a bit this week about what stands in the way of siting and building renewable projects that are now well funded, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Inevitably we return to the conversation about the role of misinformation.