Embedded Files
Key Concept
Community solar projects are centralized solar facilities owned or leased by residents (as well as businesses and institutions) who receive a monthly bill credit for their share of power produced. Essentially, the members of the community solar project share both the costs and benefits of the solar energy. Community solar is unique compared to other solar energy options, such as residential rooftop systems or voluntary green utility programs, because it expands access to a broader group of energy consumers by lowering upfront costs and being located on shared sites. Policy and legislation enable the growth of community solar, due to its inherent nature of being a form of electricity generation. In states where legislation has required utilities to provide community solar options to their customers, many of these solar programs have been widely successful, such as Colorado or Minnesota. The passage of the 2010 Community Solar Gardens Act in Colorado was a bill that pioneered the community solar movement in the U.S. Other states, such as Minnesota, California, and now Oregon, have modeled their community solar bills after Colorado’s program. It was during and after 2010 when the growth of community solar programs across the U.S. was apparent; primarily due to the enablement from state policy. A recent bill in Oregon, the “Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan” (SB 1547), was passed that will direct the Oregon Public Utility Commission to establish a community solar program for investor-owned utilities.
The Social Acceptance of Community Solar: a Portland Case Study
Portland, Oregon
By Anne Weaver
Many of the state and city climate action plans throughout the United States call for substantial reductions in local carbon emissions by 2050. Transitioning into a decarbonized electricity market by both the commercial and residential sectors is a strategy that could help achieve these rigorous objectives. Community solar is one tool that will aid in the displacement of fossil-fuel generated electricity in Portland’s energy mix. Portland is an appropriate case study for forecasting consumer acceptance of community solar because Oregon state policy recently created an opening for community solar, but the potential market acceptance of this energy practice is unknown. The objectives of this research project were to:
- Investigate the factors, such as project designs, features, and consumer demographics, that will likely influence the social acceptance of community solar in the Portland market
- Assess the attitudinal characteristics of Portland residents that may drive intent to participate in community solar projects
To address these objectives, a mixed-mode survey for energy consumers was distributed in 14 Portland neighborhoods in the fall of 2016. 330 questionnaires were completed, yielding a 34.2% response rate. Most survey respondents were single-family homeowners who reported liberal political views and high educational attainments, which adequately represented the homeowner and bill-payer demographic of Portland. Through a willingness to participate analysis, findings suggested that Portland energy consumers prioritize the economic value of community solar enrollment over other benefits. Additionally, it can be concluded that the market acceptance of community solar in Portland will be most successful if the bill credit rate is high and upfront costs of enrollment are low. A summary report of the survey results can be found below, in addition to an in-depth analysis and conclusion of results in the thesis document.
Click the links to access Annie's Thesis and her summary report.
Report abuse