Browsing by Subject "Energy justice"

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    Empowering Communities with Solar: A guide to designing and deploying transformative, community-centric solar projects
    (2023-04-18) Balakrishna, Anjali
    The clean energy transition has created a once-in-several-generations opportunity to build a more just, equitable, and decentralized energy system. Through interviews with experts in energy justice and across the energy industry, this study explored how distributed solar projects can be intentionally designed to maximize the positive impact on the communities they serve, with a particular focus on historically excluded communities. The research unearthed five key learnings that cover a range of topics, from the pre-requisites for community-centric solar projects, to the specific benefits that can be designed into a project, to the financial considerations required to bring a project to life, to how individual community-centric projects can join together to shift the energy system as a whole. This work hopes to help aligned stakeholders in the energy industry transform from passive allies to active co-conspirators in shaping a more just and equitable energy future.
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    Impact of Utility-Scale Solar Farms on Property Values in North Carolina
    (2022-04-14) Wang, Megan
    The aim of this paper is to investigate impacts of utility-scale solar farms on surrounding property values. Using data from CoreLogic, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the US Census Bureau, this study identifies a 12% statistically significant increase in sale values associated with high-income residential homes within three miles of a solar farm. However, low-income homes built near solar farms are associated with a -1.4% decrease in sale values. As North Carolina continues to expand solar energy, specifically through photovoltaic utilities, understanding the impact of solar development on surrounding communities should be a priority and policies should aim to prevent property devaluations in low-income neighborhoods caused by solar farms.