Public attitudes regarding large-scale solar energy development in the U.S.

Carlisle, Juliet E.; Kane, Stephanie L.; Solan, David; Bowman, Madelaine; Joe, Jeffrey C.

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.047

Title: Public attitudes regarding large-scale solar energy development in the U.S.

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.047· OSTI ID:1188619

Carlisle, Juliet E. ^[1]; Kane, Stephanie L. ^[2]; Solan, David ^[3]; Bowman, Madelaine ^[3]; Joe, Jeffrey C. ^[4]

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)

Using data collected from both a National sample as well as an oversample in U.S. Southwest, we examine public attitudes toward the construction of utility-scale solar facilities in the U.S. as well as development in one’s own county. Our multivariate analyses assess demographic and sociopsychological factors as well as context in terms of proximity of proposed project by considering the effect of predictors for respondents living in the Southwest versus those from a National sample.We find that the predictors, and impact of the predictors, related to support and opposition to solar development vary in terms of psychological and physical distance. Overall, for respondents living in the U.S. Southwest we find that environmentalism, belief that developers receive too many incentives, and trust in project developers to be significantly related to support and opposition to solar development, in general. When Southwest respondents consider large-scale solar development in their county, the influence of these variables changes so that property value, race, and age only yield influence. Differential effects occur for respondents of our National sample.We believe our findings to be relevant for those outside the U.S. due to the considerable growth PV solar has experienced in the last decade, especially in China, Japan, Germany, and the U.S.

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Research Organization:: Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0005351

OSTI ID:: 1188619

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1251520

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU-15-35653

Journal Information:: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 48, Issue C; ISSN 1364-0321

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 58 works

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Title: Public attitudes regarding large-scale solar energy development in the U.S.

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