SEEDS Project
A three-year study testing approaches to community engagement around large-scale solar siting
ABOUT —
What is the SEEDS Project?
As demand for clean energy rises and large-scale solar (LSS) development accelerates, effective community engagement around LSS siting is becoming especially critical. Despite the clear need add solar capacity to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, local opposition to LSS projects is on the rise, resulting in missed opportunities for both communities and developers.
There is little consensus around what specific strategies and approaches are effective for garnering community support for large-scale solar. This gap means that developers and communities alike lack clear, evidence-based approaches to effective community outreach around LSS siting. Community concerns may go unheard while developers take on costly, often ineffective outreach efforts.
As part of a 3-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies program, otherwise known as SEEDS4, SI2 is working collaboratively with the Solar Uncommon Dialogue and other project partners to understand the factors and approaches to community outreach that influence LSS acceptance.
At the heart of this project is a survey experiment testing community engagement strategies in the field. By deploying repeated survey waves in communities where strategies are being deployed, the project team will be able to test approaches to community engagement in a real-world setting. The project results will be presented in both academic papers and reports and tools for practitioners.
Community Engagement Innovation & Deployment
In coordination with the Solar Uncommon Dialogue (SUD), our experts are generating at least three community engagement “innovations.”
These engagement innovations will be tested in 6-9 communities, selected by our experts, SUD and developers.
We develop protocols for deploying the innovations.
We deploy innovations in selected communities.
Survey Research Panels & Testing
SI2 along with its partners will measure public opinion on large scale solar projects through surveys and real world testing.
4 waves of survey research across 3–4 panels will provide a clear view of public attitudes toward large-scale solar and the impact of different community engagement strategies.
We test innovations in the real world. We measure attitutdes and changes to track attitudes on large-scale solar.
Sharing Insights on Community Engagement
SI2 analyzes interim findings to show how engagement innovations perform, evaluates on-site deployment experiences, and produces final reports, fact sheets, and materials for academics, practitioners, and the public.
We host practitioner workshops to share lessons and best practices for effective community-backed solar development.
Initial Findings
Our Commitment
SI2 is committed to building a resilient future for farmers for generations to come and understanding farmers’ perspectives on solar energy is a significant part of our research.
We focus on identifying and addressing the barriers to agrivoltaic deployment for farmers, developers, and utilities, to promote collaboration and solar project success.