The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Financial incentives for rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption have declined in the United States over time by policy design. Incentive phase-down can efficiently promote early adoption and avoid ineffective payments to late adopters. However, incentive phase-down may exclude low- and moderate-income (LMI) households from realizing the same financial benefits from PV adoption as high-income early adopters. Here, data from two state-level LMI PV incentive programs are analyzed to test whether incentives still drive PV adoption among LMI households. As a first order approximation, the analysis suggests that incentives drove adoption that would not otherwise have happened in about 80% …
View Full ResourceExpanding wind energy deployment to meet climate and policy goals requires willing communities to host wind projects. Wind power acceptance is inextricably linked to perceptions of projects’ planning process, but it is less understood what makes wind planning processes more or less fair. Using a mixed-methods case study research design, this paper evaluates the planning process for two state-approved wind farms in Ohio and Minnesota using four analytical themes relating to procedural justice: participation, information, decision-making, and local context. In doing so, we provide one of the few detailed mappings of a United States wind farm planning process. Our findings …
View Full ResourceClean energy can be a powerful tool in combatting environmental injustices, and SEIA and its allies are pushing for smart policies that equitably grow the clean energy economy. This fact sheet covers the key provisions in the Build Back Better Act that can help to accelerate a just transition to a clean economy, provide economic wellbeing for frontline communities, and deliver a healthy and prosperous future.
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View Full ResourceSolar energy, including household and community based solar photovoltaic panels, is the fastest growing source of low-carbon electricity worldwide, and it could become the single largest source of renewable energy by midcentury. But what negative equity and justice issues may be associated with its adoption? What risks are being accelerated as solar energy grows exponentially in its deployment? In this study, we rely on a mixed methods research design involving household solar interviews, site visits, and a
literature review to investigate four types of inequities associated with household solar adoption. We utilize a novel framework looking at demographic inequities (between …
This report is a systematic review of the literature to understand the key opportunities and challenges associated with bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), a broad set of systems that integrate the use of energy derived from biomass with the capture and long-term storage of carbon. BECCS has received much attention due to its potential to remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere; however, there are uncertainties regarding BECCS pathways that may have adverse economic, social, and environmental impacts. While BECCS can potentially decarbonize numerous sectors, including agriculture, forestry, electricity, waste, and industry, BECCS deployment in practice has been …
View Full ResourceThis issue brief discusses existing energy injustice in the United States, related to longstanding and intersectional discrimination based on race, income, gender, and location, and how federal investment in the clean energy transition can address energy equity issues. The brief considers how targeted investment and other spending and policy considerations can direct and retain benefits of clean energy for households and communities that, historically and currently, have not benefited equitably from the energy system.…
View Full ResourceResidential energy use represents roughly 17% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States (U.S.). Studies show that legacy housing policies and financial lending practices have negatively impacted housing quality and home ownership in non-Caucasian and immigrant communities. Both factors are key determinants of household energy use. But to date there has been no national scale analysis of how race and ethnicity affect household energy use and related carbon emissions. In this paper, we estimate energy use and emissions of 60 million household to clarify how energy efficiency and carbon emissions vary by race, ethnicity, and home ownership. We …
View Full ResourceNYU researchers released the first study to rigorously assess the predicted impacts of Local Law 97 of 2019 (LL97), the City of New York’s signature climate law. The law caps the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that large buildings can release, starting in 2024.
The study assessed the impact that adding an emissions trading program would have on environmental justice communities and proposes ways to increase investment and emissions reductions in those areas. The study offers two options for trading programs designed to improve outcomes under LL97. Both options would benefit the City as a whole, and environmental justice communities …
View Full ResourceThere are two municipal solid waste incinerators still operating in California: the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility (SERRF) in Long Beach and the Covanta Stanislaus incinerator in Stanislaus County. The problems with these incinerators in California are emblematic of the larger problems with incinerators across the country. To start, these incinerators pollute the environment and harm public health by converting waste into harmful air emissions and toxic ash. Financially-strapped local governments and residents have also been forced to pay millions of dollars to subsidize the expensive maintenance and operations of these aging incinerators. Further, SERRF and Covanta Stanislaus emit a large …
View Full ResourceThere are more than 10,000 closed and inactive landfills around the country. These sites offer an incredible opportunity for solar development. By installing solar on closed landfills, states and municipalities advance local solar energy while repurposing relatively large, vacant sites within communities that have limited reuse potential.
Solar and landfills are a natural combination for many communities looking to accelerate local renewable energy development. Landfills typically have good sun exposure and limited other redevelopment opportunities, making solar one of the few ways to put the land to productive use. Moreover, reinvesting in closed landfill sites can help revitalize the local, …
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