Energy Values Lab

Members of the Energy Values Lab at MSU have published a short report containing key findings from a portion of the Summer 2026 Michigan State of the State Survey (SOSS 94). The SOSS is administered by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) of Michigan State University and is a public opinion survey of adult citizens in Michigan. The analyses, interpretations, and conclusions below and in this report are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of IPPSR or of Michigan State University.

The report focuses on residents’ perceptions of and support for data center development in Michigan.

Key Findings Include:

• 4 out of 5 respondents in Michigan have either heard or read about data centers
• 70% of Michigan respondents oppose the construction of data centers in their community
• Nearly 3 out of 4 respondents think data centers are bad for Michigan’s environment and economy
• 83% of respondents want local governments to have a say in permitting data centers
• 71% of respondents are concerned about additional large-scale development brought about by data centers
• Over three-quarters of respondents expect data centers to increase their home energy costs
• Respondents are split on whether state financial incentives should be provided for data center development
• Opposition to data centers is bipartisan, though opposition is stronger amongst Democrats and Independents than Republicans

The report is free to download and distribute; however, please cite the report as follows:

Swanson, T., D. Horowitz, P. Borgess, & D. Bessette (September 2026). Michigan residents opposition to data center development. SOSS 94. Institute for Public Policy & Social Research. Energy Values Lab. Michigan State University. East Lansing, MI. http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/vg0my-a7s44

The report was authored by Tyler Swanson, a PhD student in the Department of Community Sustainability; Danny Horowitz, an undergraduate student in the College of Engineering; Paul Borgess, an undergraduate student in the College of Social Science, and Doug Bessette, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability.

Any errors, omissions or inaccuracies are the responsibility of, and inquiries should be addressed to, Doug Bessette, at bessett6@msu.edu.

The SOSS 94 relies on YouGov interviews of 1196 Michigan Residents who were then matched down to a sample of 1000 to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The sampling frame was constructed by stratified sampling from the Michigan subsample of the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year sample with selection within strata by weighted sampling with replacements (using the person weights on the public use file)

Data availability (currently embargoed): Michigan State University Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. (2026). State of the State Survey 94 [Data file and code book]. Retrieved from http://ippsr.msu.edu/soss/

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Danny presented his work, Tracking Increases in Organized Opposition to Renewable Energy in the United States, aided by Lab members Paul Borgess, Joey Conroy, Calvin Hyde, Parker Richards, and Tyler Swanson, at MSU’s UURAF and won 1st place in the General Social Science category. Awesome work, Danny!!!

For more on this work, visit www.oppositiondb.com

Danny’s winning poster is below:

Read Dan Gearino’s story and my comments HERE.

April 14, 2026

In case you missed my talk yesterday organized by MSU’s Library Environmental Committee for Earth Day, which was offered in tandem with How Green is Your Chat? Assessing the Environmental Impacts of AI, here are my slides.

Multiple Temporary Undergraduate Research Assistant Positions: Field data collection for research on solar-farm siting processes in Michigan

Pay: $15 – $20/hour (based on experience/responsibilities)

Timing: Up to 20 hours/wk, 120 hours total, Spring/Summer 2026

Purpose of the position

The Energy Values Lab in the Department of Community Sustainability (CSUS) at Michigan State University (MSU), led by Doug Bessette, is seeking temporary undergraduate research assistants to assist in field data collection for social science research on solar facility (i.e., “solar farm”) siting processes in Michigan in Spring/Summer 2026.

This Department of Energy-sponsored research project includes collaborators from institutions across the U.S. to examine 10 proposed solar projects to determine how solar siting processes can be accelerated while reducing community burden and enhancing opportunities for deliberation. The research will provide a host of community-centered, supported, and tested strategies, including best practices around community engagement, siting and permitting, and land use decision-making, to inform the build-out of LSS in the U.S.

Duties and responsibilities

Student research assistants will be part of the MSU field team responsible for distributing and collecting surveys at 2-3 proposed solar-project sites in Michigan.

Responsibilities may include:

• Participate in training orientation and team meetings.
• Package survey materials.
• Distribute paper surveys to selected households in 2-3 areas in accordance with research and safety protocols.
• Explain the study’s purpose and participation process to selected community members
• Maintain accurate records of survey drop-offs and online completion.
• Conduct follow-up visits to collect surveys.
• Assist with survey response scanning where needed.
• Represent the research team and MSU professionally.

This position requires onsite work based in East Lansing, MI and travel within ~1 hour of MSU’s campus in Livingston, Ingham and Branch counties in Michigan.

Timing:

Applicant interviews will occur beginning in March. Primary orientation and survey preparation work will begin in April. Primary survey drop-off and pick-up will occur during the last week of May and the first two weeks of June. Typical work hours for fieldwork are 2-4 days total, from 8:00AM-6:00PM Monday through Friday and possibly weekends. Additional work within East Lansing may occur through June.

**There may be an opportunity for survey drop-off and pick-up work to begin in March/early April.**

**Longer-term positions/work potentially available**

Knowledge/Experience required

Must be able to organize work, collect and analyze data, keep records, and make independent decisions. Ability to complete assigned special projects with minimal supervision.

Other required qualifications:

• Availability for all field days.
• Strong communication skills.
• Reliable and high attention to detail.
• CITI Training (can be completed after interview)
• Comfortability interacting with diverse populations.
• Basic data entry and record keeping.
• Strong map reading and navigation skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Recommended previous related coursework in CSUS 259 or CSUS 459.

• Driver’s license and clean driving record.
• Personal vehicle in good working condition.
• Fluent in Spanish.

Location

• East Lansing, MI, MSU, Natural Resource Building Rm 327

Supervisors

• Doug Bessette
• Tyler Swanson (PhD Student in CSUS)

Title of Position:

Student Research Asst I/II

Start Date:

3/25/26

End Date:

6/30/26

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

Up to 20

Number of Openings:

6

Compensation:

$15-$20/hour

Pay Rate Type:

Hourly

TO APPLY: Email your Resume/CV and Cover Letter explaining your motivation for applying, your relevant work experience, and your availability, to Professor Bessette at bessett6@msu.edu.

Use the EXACT email subject line: “APPLICATION FOR EVL SOLAR RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITION.” Application Deadline: 12:00pm, March 10, 2026.

My comments about the new proposed data center in Lansing in the City Pulse.

Here me discuss how community engagement and impacts from solar can inform how we should approach data center development on WKAR!

Our paper identifying what community “misengagment” around large-scale solar tends to look like, i.e., single-objective, insular, hostile to opposing perspectives, reliant on confirmation bias or misinformation, and how we created our community-centered solar development (CCSD) approach in response is now available.

Not sure I totally agree with the way this article summarizes our results, but nevertheless here’s our study described in PV Magazine!

Large-scale solar (LSS) electric capacity is expanding rapidly in the U.S., with over 18 GW added in 2023 and over 40 GW in 2024; high levels of LSS deployment are anticipated to continue in coming years to meet growing electricity demand. Such deployment relies on sustained support from host community members and local governments, but that support is not assured, with community opposition now a leading cause of LSS project delays and cancellations. We conducted a nationally representative, stratified random survey of LSS neighbors (living within 3 miles) in order to better understand factors correlated with sentiments about LSS and levels of support and opposition for additional LSS development among residents with direct lived experience. Overall, we find most LSS neighbors are neutral or supportive of additional LSS in or near their communities. While some objective measures—such as the size of the project nearest the respondent, the respondent’s education level, and whether they have solar on their own home—are important correlates with support, subjective sentiments and perceptions of respondents are much more informative. Perceptions about how LSS helps or hinders community quality of life, landscape aesthetics, residential property values, climate change, and community interests and priorities were especially salient. In addition, respondents’ familiarity with their local project was influential: seeing the project more frequently generally corresponded to lower support for additional LSS. Broadly, we find evidence to reject the NIMBY hypothesis, and, conversely, more evidence to support the relationship between LSS support and community values, identity, sense of place, and protection of that place.