ABSTRACT

The rapid expansion of solar and wind energy projects is raising questions of energy justice. Some scholars argue that solar and wind project development could burden under-resourced communities with negative impacts such as environmental harm and reduced access to resources. Conversely, other scholars argue that project development could be a boon to under-resourced communities, providing local economic and cultural benefits. Here, we analyze the drivers of solar and wind project siting patterns in the United States and explore their potential energy justice implications. We find that siting patterns are driven primarily by technoeconomic factors, especially resource quality and access to open undeveloped spaces. These technoeconomic factors channel projects into sparsely populated rural areas and, to a lesser extent, areas with lower income levels. We avoid simplifying assumptions about the broad justice implications of these siting patterns and explore our results from multiple perspectives.

摘要

太阳能和风能项目的迅速扩张引发了能源正义问题。一些学者认为，太阳能和风能项目的开发可能会给资源贫乏的社区带来负面影响，例如环境危害和减少资源获取。相反，其他学者认为，项目开发可以造福于资源贫乏的社区，为当地带来经济和文化效益。在这里，我们分析了美国太阳能和风能项目选址模式的驱动因素，并探讨了它们对能源正义的潜在影响。我们发现选址模式主要受技术经济因素驱动，尤其是资源质量和开放未开发空间的使用。这些技术经济因素将项目引导到人口稀少的农村地区，并在较小程度上 收入水平较低的地区。我们避免简化关于这些选址模式的广泛正义影响的假设，并从多个角度探索我们的结果。