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Sharing the Sun: Community Solar in Ohio

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Sharing the Sun: Community Solar in Ohio Sharing the Sun: Community Solar in Ohio THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ruchie Pathak Graduate Program in Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University 2020 Thesis Committee Dr. Jeffrey Jacquet, Advisor Dr. Linda Lobao Dr. Alia Dietsch 1 Copyrighted by Ruchie Pathak 2020 2 Abstract Community solar projects allow users to take ownership in the energy they consume. With several such projects emerging rapidly all around the world, within United States and in the state of Ohio, very little is known today regarding the development and community acceptance of these projects. In this scenario, this exploratory research investigates the different reasons as to why a community adopts such renewable energy systems in order to clarify our understanding of the diffusion process. This rapid diffusion of community solar projects in Ohio is examined through the lens of diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory put forward by E. Rogers (1962), which states that the adoption of an innovation is dependent on factors like the characteristics of potential adopters, the attributes of the innovation itself and as well as the setting where the diffusion takes place. The research involves in-depth interviews with key informants, starting with the current managers of municipally owned/utility-owned solar projects, representatives from area businesses, industry, and community groups in three study sites located within Ohio. The interviews seek to capture the development (process) of three community solar initiatives: the local decision-making process for the projects, project features, types of impacts perceived to have occurred in local communities due to these projects and their future. iii My findings from this exploratory research suggests that it is indeed the local context of these communities that drives the groundwork and development of such renewable energy initiatives, with each of the three study sites having a distinct premise, along with the provision of an incentive program or a policy enacted at either state or federal level (or both), contributing towards the establishment of these solar facilities. Moreover, the findings also suggest that it is the economic benefits of these projects, combined with their relative unobtrusiveness, that ultimately determine their social acceptance. Further, the study highlights an excellent opportunity for future research to evaluate people’s attitudes towards investing in these projects and examine the different characteristics of the project that drive intent to participate and barriers to adoption. iv Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jeffrey Jacquet, for believing in me and providing me with the motivation and encouragement to help me achieve more than I ever thought I could. I am highly grateful for his continued feedback, support, understanding and patience without which I could not have found my way. I would also like to extend my gratitude towards my committee members, Dr. Linda Lobao and Dr. Alia Dietsch, for their encouragement and input on my research. I would also like to thank Ms. Anne Junod for her constant support and kind words, Ms. Kathryn Finneran for her assistance, and all the interviewees for their insights, time and cooperation as well. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their love and support throughout these years. v Vita 2012-2015………….….…………………………B.Sc. Life Sciences, University of Delhi (India) 2015-2017…….………...……………………M.Sc. Environmental Studies and Resource Management, TERI SAS (India) 2018-2019……………………………….……… Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University January, 2020-present………………..………… Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University Publications Jacquet, J., Pathak, R., Haggerty, J. H., Theodori, G. L., & Kroepsch, A. (2020). Research Fatigue in Shale Energy Boomtowns: Perceptions, Strategies and Obstacles among Social Scientists collecting Human Subjects Data. Manuscript submitted for publication. Fields of Study Major Field: Environment and Natural Resources Specialization: Environmental Social Science vi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................v Vita ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................x Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................1 Chapter 2. Literature Review ...........................................................................................6 2.1 Renewable Energy .................................................................................................6 2.2 Community Renewable Energy (CRE) Initiatives ..................................................8 2.3 Benefits of CRE initiatives ................................................................................... 10 2.4 Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy: Why is it important? ............................ 13 2.5 Social acceptance of community renewable energy projects: Global trends .......... 13 2.6 Community Solar Projects.................................................................................... 18 2.7 Municipally owned community solar ................................................................... 24 2.8 Community solar: Trends within the U.S.............................................................. 27 2.9 Community solar in Ohio ..................................................................................... 32 3.0 Research context .................................................................................................. 35 3.1 Theory of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) ............................................................. 36 3.1.1 Application of DOI theory in current study .................................................... 44 Chapter 3: Research Methods ........................................................................................ 47 3.1 Research objectives .............................................................................................. 47 3.2 Research questions ............................................................................................... 47 3.3 Study sites............................................................................................................ 48 vii 3.4 Data collection ..................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4: Results.......................................................................................................... 61 4.1 Site 1: Wyandot Solar Facility, Wyandot County, Salem Township, Ohio (#N=4) .................................................................................................................................. 61 4.2 Site 2: Bowling Green Solar Field, Wood County, Ohio (#N=4) ........................ 68 4.3 Site 3: Minster Solar Array, Minster, Auglaize County, Ohio (#N=4) .................. 77 Chapter 5: Discussion .................................................................................................... 87 5.1 Development of community solar......................................................................... 87 5.2 Community impacts ............................................................................................. 90 5.3 Public reactions .................................................................................................... 94 5.3.1 The “there ain’t much to talk about” attitude ................................................. 95 5.4 Application of DOI theory ................................................................................... 99 5.5 Limitations of the study ..................................................................................... 105 Chapter 6: Conclusions ................................................................................................ 107 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 111 Appendix A. Interview checklist .................................................................................. 133 Appendix B. Participant recruitment email .................................................................. 135 viii List of Tables Table 1 Characteristics of an innovation. ....................................................................... 38 Table 2 Solar farms and (recruited) participants in the study. ......................................... 60 ix List of Figures Figure 1 Energy consumption in U.S. by energy source in 2018.......................................7 Figure 2 Summarizes the benefits associated with CRE initiatives. ................................ 12 Figure 3 Community/Shared Solar Program .................................................................. 19 Figure 4 Community Solar at Utility-Sponsored Level ..................................................
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