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Removal of topsoil and runoff associated with LSS
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Continue reading →: Removal of topsoil and runoff associated with LSSThere was a provocative story in Reuters this morning about concerns over the removal of topsoil, increased soil erosion, and increased sediment runoff resulting from large-scale solar development. Anybody that’s witnessed construction of a LSS project understands the significant earth-moving and grading that accompany installation of the panels. There is…
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Continue reading →: In MSU Today: New survey from MSU and others finds positive perceptions of solar projects
This survey marks the first nationally representative study of large scale solar neighbors As solar energy development accelerates, how do Americans actually feel about those large scale solar, or LSS, farms they see along the highway or near their neighborhood? A new survey has found that for residents living within…
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You can’t have your cheap solar and make it too
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Continue reading →: You can’t have your cheap solar and make it tooToday’s NY Times article examining China’s efforts to flood the market with cheap solar panels identifies an enduring conflict in the Biden clean-energy agenda: you can’t have both cheap panels and panels made in the US. And for Biden, one without the other is a loss. Cheap panels mean a…
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Continue reading →: New results from our national survey of large-scale solar neighbors
See our work featured in Inside Climate News. Additionally, the survey report is located here. We’ll be publishing more in-depth analyses soon.
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Continue reading →: Congratulations to Jake White for defending his MSc. Thesis on urban and brownfield solar development!!
Jake White successfully defended his MSc. Thesis this afternoon examining residents’ perceptions regarding and preferences for alternate development to urban and brownfield solar development in Michigan. He examined three communities and projects via an Every Door Direct Mail Survey. For more on his work see his Conversation article! Congrats, Jake!…
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Continue reading →: Detroiters more likely to support local solar power development if they think it reduces energy prices for their community (in The Conversation)
by Jake White!! and I Michigan residents overwhelmingly want more solar power. In the spring of 2023, nearly two-thirds of 1,000 state residents surveyed supported additional large-scale solar development. In the Energy Values Lab at Michigan State University, we study how the public, and specifically community members living near large-scale…
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Continue reading →: Featured- Ohio county sees dueling studies on solar project payments, but only one disclosed its data
by Kathiann Kowalski A property-tax alternative chosen by an Ohio county will likely give it more total financial benefits from a proposed solar project than the property tax option would, according to an independent academic analysis… LINK HERE
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Continue reading →: Featured: Reveal- Sunblocked: Resistance to Solar in Farm Country
Link to Podcast and Story Reveal’s Jonathan Jones travels to Copake, New York, in the Hudson River Valley. It’s the site of one of the most contentious fights over a proposed large-scale solar project in the United States. Jones looks at what’s driving support and opposition to the project, Shepherd’s…
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Continue reading →: New Paper Alert: (in ERSS) Good fences make good neighbors: Stakeholder perspectives on the local benefits and burdens of large-scale solar energy development in the United States
In order to meet decarbonization goals, the number of large-scale solar (LSS) facilities in the US is expected to increase considerably. The advantages of LSS over fossil-fueled power generation are numerous and well documented. However, residents living nearby proposed and existing LSS sites have voiced a number of concerns about…
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Continue reading →: Featured: COP 28 deal echoes discussions on Michigan’s energy transition
By Kyle Davidson With the conclusion of the United Nations Climate Change conference (COP 28) last week, negotiators brokered a deal calling for a global expansion of renewable energy, improved energy efficiency and a transition away from fossil fuels… Click to link to the story!
Hello,
Welcome to the Energy Values Lab
The Energy Values Lab is a small group of scholar-practitioners, led by Doug Bessette, working to examine the concerns, constraints and opportunities for community-centered and socially responsible clean energy development. We are housed in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University.
The lab conducts research in clean energy, energy transitions (and traditions), the social acceptance of renewables, and community energy development. We integrate applied decision research, critical geography, and theories of place to better understand the risks of, barriers to, and opportunities for clean energy system development in the US and abroad.
Our current research focuses on understanding support for and opposition to utility-scale renewable energy systems (i.e., wind and solar), siting, operation, and adoption at multiple scales. The lab advocates for greater community influence and control over renewables, economic development, improved local decision-making processes, and aligning energy development outcomes with community values.
The lab tends to work in large multi-institutional interdisciplinary teams, with Dr. Bessette leading an NSF-funded project examining rural and Tribal energy sovereignty, and on Community-Centered Solar Development (CCSD) for the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. Doug’s past research has spanned multiple contexts including organic and sustainable agriculture, coastal climate risk management, natural resource management in developing territories and green infrastructure.
Doug teaches courses in clean energy development (CSUS 259 and CSUS 459) and has supervised 1 Postdoctoral researcher, 2 PhD students and 4 MSc students, nearly all of whom have gone on to work in energy-related positions, e.g., with BOEM, USGS, NREL and M-DEGLE. Doug continues to serve on advisory committees for numerous graduate students both within and external to CSUS and MSU.
Energy Values Lab 