Support for solar energy: Examining sense of place and utility-scale development in California
Abstract
As solar costs have declined PV systems have experienced considerable growth since 2003, especially in China, Japan, Germany, and the U.S. Thus, a more nuanced understanding of a particular public's attitudes toward utility-scale solar development, as it arrives in a market and region, is warranted and will likely be instructive for other areas in the world where this type of development will occur in the near future. Using data collected from a 2013 telephone survey (N=594) from the six Southern Californian counties selected based on existing and proposed solar developments and available suitable land, we examine public attitudes toward solar energy and construction of large-scale solar facilities, testing whether attitudes toward such developments are the result of sense of place and attachment to place. Overall, we have mixed results. Place attachment and sense of place fail to produce significant effects except in terms of perceived positive benefits. That is, respondents interpret the change resulting from large-scale solar development in a positive way insofar as perceived positive economic impacts are positively related to support for nearby large-scale construction.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID (United States)
- Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)
- Boise State Univ., Boise, ID (United States)
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1193637
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-15-35721
Journal ID: ISSN 2214-6296; PII: S221462961400084X
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy Research and Social Science
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 3; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 2214-6296
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; 14 SOLAR ENERGY; public opinion; solar energy; renewable energy; place attachment; facility siting; public acceptance
Citation Formats
Carlisle, Juliet E., Kane, Stephanie L., Solan, David, and Joe, Jeffrey C. Support for solar energy: Examining sense of place and utility-scale development in California. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2014.07.006.
Carlisle, Juliet E., Kane, Stephanie L., Solan, David, & Joe, Jeffrey C. Support for solar energy: Examining sense of place and utility-scale development in California. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.07.006
Carlisle, Juliet E., Kane, Stephanie L., Solan, David, and Joe, Jeffrey C. Wed .
"Support for solar energy: Examining sense of place and utility-scale development in California". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.07.006. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1193637.
@article{osti_1193637,
title = {Support for solar energy: Examining sense of place and utility-scale development in California},
author = {Carlisle, Juliet E. and Kane, Stephanie L. and Solan, David and Joe, Jeffrey C.},
abstractNote = {As solar costs have declined PV systems have experienced considerable growth since 2003, especially in China, Japan, Germany, and the U.S. Thus, a more nuanced understanding of a particular public's attitudes toward utility-scale solar development, as it arrives in a market and region, is warranted and will likely be instructive for other areas in the world where this type of development will occur in the near future. Using data collected from a 2013 telephone survey (N=594) from the six Southern Californian counties selected based on existing and proposed solar developments and available suitable land, we examine public attitudes toward solar energy and construction of large-scale solar facilities, testing whether attitudes toward such developments are the result of sense of place and attachment to place. Overall, we have mixed results. Place attachment and sense of place fail to produce significant effects except in terms of perceived positive benefits. That is, respondents interpret the change resulting from large-scale solar development in a positive way insofar as perceived positive economic impacts are positively related to support for nearby large-scale construction.},
doi = {10.1016/j.erss.2014.07.006},
journal = {Energy Research and Social Science},
number = C,
volume = 3,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Aug 20 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Wed Aug 20 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}
Works referenced in this record:
A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems
journal, January 2003
- Parmesan, Camille; Yohe, Gary
- Nature, Vol. 421, Issue 6918
Ecological responses to recent climate change
journal, March 2002
- Walther, Gian-Reto; Post, Eric; Convey, Peter
- Nature, Vol. 416, Issue 6879
The ‘Social Gap’ in Wind Farm Siting Decisions: Explanations and Policy Responses
journal, August 2005
- Bell, Derek; Gray, Tim; Haggett, Claire
- Environmental Politics, Vol. 14, Issue 4
Beyond NIMBYism: towards an integrated framework for understanding public perceptions of wind energy
journal, January 2005
- Devine-Wright, Patrick
- Wind Energy, Vol. 8, Issue 2
Public understanding of and support for wind power in the United States
journal, July 2010
- Klick, Holly; Smith, Eric R. A. N.
- Renewable Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 7
‘Green On Green’: Public perceptions of wind power in Scotland and Ireland
journal, November 2005
- Warren, Charles R.; Lumsden, Carolyn; O'Dowd, Simone
- Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol. 48, Issue 6
Wind power and the NIMBY-myth: institutional capacity and the limited significance of public support
journal, September 2000
- Wolsink, Maarten
- Renewable Energy, Vol. 21, Issue 1
Trends in US Public Perceptions and Preferences on Energy and Environmental Policy
journal, November 1994
- Farhar, B. C.
- Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, Vol. 19, Issue 1
What are we doing here? Analyzing fifteen years of energy scholarship and proposing a social science research agenda
journal, March 2014
- Sovacool, Benjamin K.
- Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 1
Individual and household interactions with energy systems: Toward integrated understanding
journal, March 2014
- Stern, Paul C.
- Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 1
Energy sources, public policy, and public preferences: Analysis of US national and site-specific data
journal, August 2009
- Greenberg, Michael
- Energy Policy, Vol. 37, Issue 8
Understanding and Overcoming the NIMBY Syndrome
journal, September 1992
- Dear, Michael
- Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 58, Issue 3
The inclusion of social aspects in power planning
journal, December 2011
- Ribeiro, Fernando; Ferreira, Paula; Araújo, Madalena
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 15, Issue 9
Understanding ‘local’ opposition to wind development in the UK: How big is a backyard?
journal, June 2010
- Jones, Christopher R.; Richard Eiser, J.
- Energy Policy, Vol. 38, Issue 6
Resident Perceptions of a Nearby Electric Transmission line
journal, March 1996
- Priestley, Thomas; Evans, Gary W.
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 16, Issue 1
Nimbyism vs. environmentalism in attitudes toward energy development
journal, February 2008
- Michaud, Kristy; Carlisle, Juliet E.; Smith, Eric R. A. N.
- Environmental Politics, Vol. 17, Issue 1
The public—expert interface in local waste management decisions: expertise, credibility and process
journal, October 1997
- Petts, Judith
- Public Understanding of Science, Vol. 6, Issue 4
Community perspectives of wind energy in Australia: The application of a justice and community fairness framework to increase social acceptance
journal, May 2007
- Gross, Catherine
- Energy Policy, Vol. 35, Issue 5
NIMBY or not? Exploring the relevance of location and the politics of voiced opinions in renewable energy siting controversies
journal, May 2007
- van der Horst, Dan
- Energy Policy, Vol. 35, Issue 5
Deliberative Speak at the Turbine Face: Community Engagement, Wind Farms, and Renewable Energy Transitions, in Australia
journal, September 2008
- Hindmarsh, Richard; Matthews, Catherine
- Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, Vol. 10, Issue 3
Wind power implementation: The nature of public attitudes: Equity and fairness instead of ‘backyard motives’
journal, August 2007
- Wolsink, Maarten
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 11, Issue 6
Over the Sea and Far Away? A Consideration of the Planning, Politics and Public Perception of Offshore Wind Farms
journal, September 2008
- Haggett, Claire
- Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, Vol. 10, Issue 3
Wind power deployment outcomes: How can we account for the differences?
journal, May 2008
- Toke, D.; Breukers, S.; Wolsink, M.
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 12, Issue 4
Environmental Concern in a Local Context: The Significance of Place Attachment
journal, March 2001
- Vorkinn, Marit; Riese, Hanne
- Environment and Behavior, Vol. 33, Issue 2
Beyond house and haven: toward a revisioning of emotional relationships with places
journal, March 2003
- Manzo, Lynne C.
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 23, Issue 1
For better or worse: Exploring multiple dimensions of place meaning
journal, March 2005
- Manzo, Lynne C.
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 25, Issue 1
Neighborhood responses to disorder and local attachments: The systemic model of attachment, social disorganization, and neighborhood use value
journal, March 1996
- Taylor, Ralph B.
- Sociological Forum, Vol. 11, Issue 1
Place-identity: Physical world socialization of the self
journal, March 1983
- Proshansky, Harold M.; Fabian, Abbe K.; Kaminoff, Robert
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 3, Issue 1
Community ties: Patterns of attachment and social interaction in urban neighborhoods
journal, February 1981
- Riger, Stephanie; Lavrakas, Paul J.
- American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 9, Issue 1
Place attachment and public acceptance of renewable energy: A tidal energy case study
journal, December 2011
- Devine-Wright, Patrick
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 31, Issue 4
Rethinking NIMBYism: The role of place attachment and place identity in explaining place-protective action
journal, November 2009
- Devine-Wright, Patrick
- Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 19, Issue 6
Disruption to place attachment and the protection of restorative environments: A wind energy case study
journal, September 2010
- Devine-Wright, Patrick; Howes, Yuko
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 30, Issue 3
Understanding public responses to offshore wind power
journal, February 2011
- Haggett, Claire
- Energy Policy, Vol. 39, Issue 2
Attitudes towards offshore wind farms—The role of beach visits on attitude and demographic and attitude relations
journal, March 2010
- Ladenburg, Jacob
- Energy Policy, Vol. 38, Issue 3
Enhancing local distinctiveness fosters public acceptance of tidal energy: A UK case study
journal, January 2011
- Devine-Wright, Patrick
- Energy Policy, Vol. 39, Issue 1
âNot in our front gardenâ: Land use conflict, spatial meaning and the politics of naming place
journal, January 2010
- Nash, Nicholas; Lewis, Alan; Griffin, Christine
- Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 20, Issue 1
Toward a Social Psychology of Place: Predicting Behavior from Place-Based Cognitions, Attitude, and Identity
journal, September 2002
- Stedman, Richard C.
- Environment and Behavior, Vol. 34, Issue 5
Identity Processes and Environmental Threat: the Effects of Nationalism and Local Identity upon Perception of Beach Pollution
journal, August 1996
- Bonaiuto, Marino; Breakwell, Glynis M.; Cano, Ignacio
- Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 6, Issue 3
Local identity processes and environmental attitudes in land use changes: The case of natural protected areas
journal, October 2002
- Bonaiuto, Marino; Carrus, Giuseppe; Martorella, Helga
- Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 23, Issue 5
The Politicization of Climate Change and Polarization in the American Public's Views of Global Warming, 2001–2010
journal, May 2011
- McCright, Aaron M.; Dunlap, Riley E.
- The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 52, Issue 2
Works referencing / citing this record:
Public perceptions of and responses to new energy technologies
journal, May 2019
- Boudet, Hilary S.
- Nature Energy, Vol. 4, Issue 6
Multi-objective Optimization of Solar Irradiance and Variance at Pertinent Inclination Angles
journal, May 2018
- Jain, Dhanesh; Lalwani, Mahendra
- Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series C, Vol. 100, Issue 5
Improving Social Acceptance of Waste-to-Energy Incinerators in China: Role of Place Attachment, Trust, and Fairness
journal, March 2019
- Hou, Guanghui; Chen, Tong; Ma, Ke
- Sustainability, Vol. 11, Issue 6