Ratepayer Perspectives on Mid- to Large-Scale Solar Development on Long Island, NY: Lessons for Reducing Siting Conflict through Supported Development Types

Abstract

The state of New York has ambitious mandates for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy generation. Solar energy will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electric energy sector. Concerns over solar installations’ impacts to host communities and the environment have led to growing conflicts over solar energy siting on Long Island, in other parts of New York, and throughout the US. Understanding community members’ perspectives is critical for reducing conflict. Solar energy can be deployed more quickly and at lower cost if projects are structured to address the concerns and meet the needs of the community. This paper presents the results of a survey of residential utility ratepayers that examined their perceptions, preferences, and priorities concerning mid- to large-scale solar development on Long Island (250 kW and larger). The survey asked respondents to consider specific installation types, financial models, and other aspects of solar development. Results indicate that respondents were overwhelmingly supportive of mid- to large-scale solar development in their communities. The most highly supported development types were solar systems on rooftops and solar systems that are co-located with other land uses (mixed use) at a particular site, such as parking canopies, landfills, or integration with agriculture. The most highly supported financial models included privately funded projects by local developers and community solar projects. The largest concern about solar development expressed by respondents did not involve tree removal or visibility (as initially hypothesized to be the most significant considerations) but rather the fairness of the distribution of economic benefits associated with solar development. This paper provides concrete insight into particular models of solar development that may invoke less conflict and more community support.

Do agrivoltaics improve public support for solar? A survey on perceptions, preferences, and priorities

“…Based on previous theoretical and empirical studies related to social acceptance of renewable energy (RE) (e.g., Walker, 1995;van der Horst, 2007;Ansolabehere & Konisky, 2009;Sovacool, 2009;Batel et al, 2013;Fast, 2013), it is anticipated that successful deployment of agrivoltaics will necessitate sensitivity to and accommodation of public perceptions, especially rural perceptions, related to solar infrastructure on farmland. While majority of research related to social acceptance of RE is focused on wind (e.g., Wüstenhagen et al, 2007;Gross, 2007;Firestone et al, 2007Firestone et al, , 2009Firestone et al, , 2015Mulvaney et al, 2013;Bessette & Mills, 2021) and less so on solar (Carlisle et al, 2014(Carlisle et al, , 2015(Carlisle et al, , 2016Sovacool & Ratan, 2013;Schelly et al, 2020), the general concepts and factors identified as influential of support can be applied to develop a framework for understanding factors that may play a role in shaping public perceptions about agrivoltaic systems.…”

“…There is a scarcity of empirical research directly aimed at identifying factors that influence support or opposition to solar PV development in the U.S. (exceptions include Carlisle et al, 2014Carlisle et al, , 2015Carlisle et al, , 2016Schelly et al, 2020). These studies have found rural residency (Carlisle et al, 2014(Carlisle et al, , 2016, land type (Carlisle et al, 2016;Schelly et al, 2020) and distribution of economic benefits (Schelly et al, 2020) to have strong influence on public perceptions related to solar projects. A survey by Carlisle et al (2016) found that rural residents are more likely to oppose local solar development than urban residents, suggesting that rural communities perceive land use differently.…”

“…A survey by Carlisle et al (2016) found that rural residents are more likely to oppose local solar development than urban residents, suggesting that rural communities perceive land use differently. Schelly et al (2020) found that solar developments that are co-located with other land uses and those that provide income opportunities to farmers receive highest levels of public support, representing key factors that may be important in shaping attitudes towards agrivoltaic development. The factors that influence support or opposition to solar PV development in the U.S. identified by these studies provide a foundation for exploring public perceptions about agrivoltaics.…”

“…The potential to deploy solar PV could be cut in half in areas where land is favored for agriculture rather than energy production (Dias et al, 2019), indicating that strategies for ameliorating conflicting land use trade-offs are requisite to enable continued large-scale PV development (Sacchelli et al, 2016). Additionally, instances of land use conflict related to solar energy development can give rise to community resistance (Carlisle et al, 2016); among the nuanced reasons for this localized opposition, land type and land use have been identified as critical for shaping public acceptability of solar development (Carlisle et al, 2015;Schelly et al, 2020). These coupled challenges signify that both land constraints for renewable energy (Calvert et al, 2013) and associated public perceptions will have implications on large-scale PV deployment, which emphasizes the need for enhanced development strategies that optimize land use and invoke community acceptance.…”

“…Siting solar PV systems to be compatible with multiple uses is becoming an increasingly effective approach to address land constraints, and recent survey research has confirmed that mixed use solar projects, specifically on agricultural land, are among the most highly supported development types (Schelly et al, 2020). These mixed-use solar projects that combine PV electric generation and agricultural production are commonly known as agrivoltaic systems (Dupraz et al, 2011;Dinesh & Pearce, 2016).…”