-
Featured: Want to See Community Solar Done Right? A Project in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Can Serve as a Model
Dan Gearino writes about our study of a community solar project in L’ Anse, Michigan. Read more
-
Another unavoidable solar tradeoff: Local Environmental Benefit vs Economic Loss
One of the chief concerns of rural residents faced with large-scale solar (LSS) proposals are those projects’ impact to the local agricultural economy. While the construction of LSS creates temporary jobs and economic activity at local businesses, e.g., hotels, gas stations, restaurants and hardware stores, once the project is complete and operational, the full-time equivalents… Read more
-
New Study! -Energy justice outcomes of a low-income community solar project in Michigan
This study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, and led by Karl Hoesch at UofM, explores one community solar project in a rural community in the upper peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The project contained a carve-out for Low-Middle Income (LMI) households identified through participation in the National Weatherization Program (WAP). Through… Read more
-
Removal of topsoil and runoff associated with LSS
There was a provocative story in Reuters this morning about concerns over the removal of topsoil, increased soil erosion, and increased sediment runoff resulting from large-scale solar development. Anybody that’s witnessed construction of a LSS project understands the significant earth-moving and grading that accompany installation of the panels. There is undoubtedly an impact to the… Read more
-
In MSU Today: New survey from MSU and others finds positive perceptions of solar projects
This survey marks the first nationally representative study of large scale solar neighbors As solar energy development accelerates, how do Americans actually feel about those large scale solar, or LSS, farms they see along the highway or near their neighborhood? A new survey has found that for residents living within three miles of a large-scale… Read more
-
You can’t have your cheap solar and make it too
Today’s NY Times article examining China’s efforts to flood the market with cheap solar panels identifies an enduring conflict in the Biden clean-energy agenda: you can’t have both cheap panels and panels made in the US. And for Biden, one without the other is a loss. Cheap panels mean a speedy transition, more solar farms,… Read more
Doug Bessette, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University
Energy Values Lab 