New project looks at the role of nonprofits in the energy transition

The siting of new large-scale solar (and other types of renewable energy) facilities raise a host of issues and questions for communities and environmental organizations.

For instance, how do environmental groups reconcile their mission-specific purposes with the potential impact of new facilitates? When and where do organizations decide to get involved? What is the relationship between local chapters and national offices in terms of their support for renewable energy?

To understand how and where environmental nonprofit organizations engage with renewable energy siting, this research examines nonprofit activity in siting decisions for a selection of large-scale (utility-scale) solar proposals. The analysis documents where nonprofits are engaging, what issues they are raising, and also reports on the outcome of the subject projects to understand the role of nonprofits in renewable energy siting.

I will present initial results of my research at the annual conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) in Raleigh, NC on November 17-19, 2022.