Studying Community Influence in the Design Decisions for Utility Scale Solar Developments
Objective:
Analyze what decisions are made in utility-scale solar development projects to uncover opportunities for better matching community engagement opportunities to critical points in the design process
Bridge the gap between technical expertise and community engagement to create a more equitable and responsive approach to solar energy development
Create a stakeholder map that includes the descriptions of impacting and impacted parties and their roles in the projects
Create a decision process flow diagram that includes key design decisions aligned with type of decision and stakeholder influence on the decision as well as opportunities for involvement of other stakeholders in decisions
Main Impact:
If developers and communities can be empowered with the knowledge about what design decisions need to be made, how decisions are made and influenced, and where in the project timeline those decisions might be made, then structures and strategies can be improved to support co-design amongst designers, developers, and communities.
Community support for projects can be strengthened through more meaningful inclusion of their needs and wants, and more trust can be built by acknowledging aspects of solar projects that are and are not changeable.
Solar energy product designers and developers can benefit from greater insight into community values in solar energy projects and can modify technology and systems to better align.
Lead EMBERlab Researchers: Uthman Olagoke and Adelaide Lammers, with co-advisors Prof. Shanna Daly and Prof. Sarah Mills