Energy Values Lab

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.

Now Available!!! Below is the May 2025 version of the US Renewable Energy Organized Opposition & Support Database

This dataset, which includes information on over 320 organizations or organized efforts working to either support or oppose renewable energy projects in the United States is a product of the Energy Values Lab in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University (MSU).

This dataset began as a MSU Undergraduate Honors class project in 2024 and with contributions from multiple students, including both graduate and undergraduate students, continues as a collaborative research project.

The purpose of the database is to provide accessible information to residents, scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers regarding the types of organizations operating online to support or oppose renewable energy development in the US.

The dataset currently covers 32 states. For more on the dataset’s development visit oppositiondb.com

Understanding where and why support for or opposition to large-scale renewable projects exists is key to i) improving siting and permitting processes, ii) enhancing accessibility and reliability of electricity delivery, and iii) facilitating decarbonization and the pursuit of sustainable energy more broadly. 

This data is available for any and all uses. Please use the suggested citation below when using or referencing the dataset: 

Horowitz, D., Borgess, P., Conroy, J. & D. Bessette (May, 2025). United States Renewable Energy Organized Opposition and Support Group Database. Energy Values Lab, Michigan State University. East Lansing, MI. https://oppositiondb.com/

In addition to the current project team, we would like to acknowledge the work of the following individuals in developing and maintaining the dataset and website: C.Hardaway, J.Martens, A.Moore, V.Unruh., & R.Koyama.

Excited to announce a new paper published in Methodological Innovations, led by CSUS MSc. graduate and Energy Values Lab member Jake White!

While paper mail-based surveys avoid much of the risk of bots and fraudulent data, they suffer from lower response rates and ever-inflating material and logistical costs. In response, there is a nascent, but growing literature investigating a lower cost, explicitly anonymous, mail-based survey distribution method called Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM).

This study contributes to this growing body of literature by using EDDM to disseminate a sequential mixed-mode census-style survey that meets best use-case recommendations per past research. We make several design alterations to elicit higher response rates including using an outer envelope and cash incentive.

The survey, distributed near large-scale solar developments in three urban Michigan communities (~1554 households), was geographically based, targeted a specific and limited population, and covered the potentially sensitive topic of local solar development, which may have also led to a higher response rate. The survey achieved an overall response rate of 10.2% with 158 complete surveys returned, demonstrating this work’s usefulness, use case, and flexibility.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20597991251329754

On Monday the 3rd of February, the CAREsolar workshop, Creating an updated conceptual framework on the socio-ecological impacts and community acceptance of large-scale solar, was held at ETH Zurich with the assistance of the Swiss Research Foundation for Electricity and Mobile Communication (FSM). The workshop brought together 20 experts and key stakeholders from Europe and beyond with the aim of identifying the main challenges and good practices for decision-making around the planning and design of large-scale solar photovoltaic projects. I was honored to be included in this important work.

For an initial report on the workshop, check out Ross Wallace’s summary report.

Supporting Community-Centered Solar Development: A Guide to Hosting Community Conversations About Large-Scale Solar Development

This guidebook helps community leaders, planners, developers, and residents facilitate proactive discussions about large-scale solar (LSS) development. As LSS projects grow rapidly across the U.S., these conversations ensure development aligns with local priorities and values.

The guide provides a practical, eight-step process for planning and hosting respectful, productive discussions about solar’s local impacts—both positive and negative. Developed through the Community-Centered Solar Development project, it reflects real-world insights from pilot conversations led by university Extension professionals across five states.

You’ll find guidance on assessing local solar status, defining objectives, engaging stakeholders, and managing logistics, plus a Resource Library with free tools like slides, templates, and agendas.

Whether your community is preparing for its first solar project or addressing new proposals, this guide equips you to foster understanding, address concerns, and align solar development with your community’s goals.

The CCSD Community Conversations guidebook is also available for download at MSU’s CANR-CSUS’s website: Supporting Community-Centered Solar Development