A spatial analysis of the development potential of rooftop and community solar energy

Exploring Residential Rooftop Solar Potential in the United States by Race and Ethnicity

“…Geographic areas with higher percentages of renteroccupied housing have lower solar penetration rates (Graziano et al, 2019;Reames, 2020). A study on rooftop solar potential in western New York found that areas with higher shares of renters had less rooftop area compared to areas with higher shares of homeowners (Schunder et al, 2020). However, the Schunder et al (2020) study did not distinguish between singleand multi-family buildings.…”

“…In 2019, approximately 46% of homeowners reported giving serious thought to adding solar panels to their homes, up from 40% in 2016 (Kennedy and Thigpen, 2019). However, in the era of the clean energy transition, scholars have demonstrated that distributional inequities are evident in the adoption and the social, environmental, and economic benefits of residential solar (Kwan, 2012;Vaishnav et al, 2017;Lukanov and Krieger, 2019;Sunter et al, 2019;Brown et al, 2020;Reames, 2020;Schunder et al, 2020). This has led many to call for a "Solar with Justice" or an energy justice approach to the clean energy transition (Clean Energy States Alliance, 2019;Fortier et al, 2019;Carley and Konisky, 2020).…”

“…This has led many to call for a "Solar with Justice" or an energy justice approach to the clean energy transition (Clean Energy States Alliance, 2019;Fortier et al, 2019;Carley and Konisky, 2020). Solar adoption disparities in the United States have been shown across household income, homeownership status, and more recently racial and ethnic demographics (Kwan, 2012;Vaishnav et al, 2017;Lukanov and Krieger, 2019;Sunter et al, 2019;Brown et al, 2020;Reames, 2020;Schunder et al, 2020).…”

“…Although studies in solar adoption motivations found that low-income and non-low-income adopters are more alike than different, it has long been recognized that solar adoption growth has not been equitably distributed across household income classes and is instead linked to spending power (Kwan, 2012;Schunder et al, 2020;Wolske, 2020). Higher-income households represent a greater share of solar adopters than their share in the population (Barbose et al, 2018).…”

“…More recently, studies have found that race and ethnicity are significant indicators for solar adoption (Kwan, 2012;Sunter et al, 2019;Reames, 2020;Schunder et al, 2020). Large racial and ethnic disparities in solar deployment are apparent.…”