Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
    • 10th Anniversary Roundtables
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • Solar tariffs
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractors Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • Monthly Snapshots
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • 2020 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Inverters
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
    • Racking and Mounting
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Leadership
      • 2020 Winners
      • 2019 Winners
      • 2018 Winners
    • Podcasts
    • Product Databases
      • Solar Inverter Models
      • Solar Panel Models
      • Solar Racking Models
      • Battery Storage Models
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Inverter Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Solar Panel Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
      • Inverters
      • Solar panels
      • Roof-mount systems
      • Ground-mount systems
      • Residential energy storage systems
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers

Report reveals racial disparity in U.S. rooftop solar deployment

By Kelsey Misbrener | January 11, 2019

Share

Although the popularity of rooftop solar panels has skyrocketed because of their benefits to consumers and the environment, the deployment has predominantly occurred in white neighborhoods, even after controlling for household income and home ownership, according to a study by researchers from Tufts University and the University of California, Berkeley, published today in the journal Nature Sustainability.

While solar energy is a popular, cost-effective, sustainable source of energy that can be deployed at large, utility-scale projects as well as on individual rooftops, deployment of rooftop solar has been uneven.

“Solar power is crucial to meeting the climate goals presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but we can and need to deploy solar more broadly so that it benefits all people, regardless of race and ethnicity,” said Deborah Sunter, Ph.D., a professor of mechanical engineering at the School of Engineering at Tufts, and the study’s lead author. “Solar energy can be a resource for climate protection and social empowerment.”

Researchers combined data from Google’s Project Sunroof on existing rooftop solar installations across the United States with demographic data, including household income, home ownership and ethnicity and race, from the U.S. Census Bureau’s “American Community Survey.” The Project Sunroof data includes information on more than 60 million rooftops and almost two million solar installations.

“Advances in remote sensing and in ‘big data’ science enable us not only to take a unique look at where solar is deployed but also to combine that with census and demographic data to chart who gets to benefit from the solar energy revolution,” said Sergio Castellanos, Ph.D., a research faculty at UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group and the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE). “This information allows us to think more deeply about the effectiveness of current policies and approaches to accelerating solar PV deployment.”

The study found that for the same median household income:

  • Black-majority census tracts—or neighborhoods—have installed 69% less rooftop photovoltaics (PV) than census tracts (neighborhoods) where no single race or ethnicity makes up the majority (no-majority); and
  • Hispanic-majority census tracts have installed 30% less rooftop PV than no-majority census tracts. Meanwhile, white-majority census tracts have installed 21% more rooftop PV than no-majority census tracts.

When correcting for home ownership, black- and Hispanic-majority census tracts have installed less rooftop PV compared to no-majority tracts by 61% and 45%, respectively, while white-majority census tracts installed 37% more.

The study’s authors said more research is needed to help determine the root causes of the differences. They noted that the findings could be useful in developing better and more inclusive energy infrastructure policy and outcomes, including as part of the evolving ‘Green New Deal’, and programs at the state and federal level.

“Our work illustrates that while solar can be a powerful tool for climate protection and social equity, a lack of access or a lack of outreach to all segments of society can dramatically weaken the social benefit,” said Daniel Kammen, Ph.D., former Science Envoy for the U. S. State Department, and current professor and chair of the Energy and Resources Group, professor in the Goldman School of Policy, and professor of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley. Both Sunter and Kammen have been fellows of the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS), and Castellanos is a fellow at UC Berkeley´s Data for Social Sciences Lab (D-Lab).

News item from Tufts University

About The Author

Kelsey Misbrener

Kelsey is senior editor of Solar Power World.

Comments

  1. Johanna Kraus-Darden says

    January 14, 2019 at 2:42 pm

    Thank you for this clarification, I look forward to the continued conversations on energy access diversification.

    Reply
  2. Dan Kammenk says

    January 12, 2019 at 12:23 am

    For more details on this story, and access to both the paper and the data, you can find it all here:
    https://rael.berkeley.edu/2019/01/new-article-on-the-racial-disparities-in-installed-rooftop-solar-in-the-us/

    Reply
  3. Johanna Kraus-Darden says

    January 11, 2019 at 4:44 pm

    Solar Power World,

    Although the headline of this article is engaging, the presentation of the statistics is blurring at best. Rather than outright stating the statistics for the public to understand the increased percentages of rooftop solar installed on different ethnicities, the attempt to skirt the issues by using comparative language only differs the issue. Why not state “x% of rooftop solar in White neighborhoods increased, while only x% increased in black or hispanic neighborhoods”. I was very much excited by the acknowledgement that people of color are not being prioritized in our industry. However, your article only reaffirms that our industry is still unable to address the inherent biases of the privilege and profit solar focuses on.

    Reply
    • Kelly Pickerel says

      January 14, 2019 at 8:09 am

      This is a press release from Tufts University. We plan to explore the topic further in an upcoming original story.

      Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

Related Articles Read More >

Software services company CleanSpark acquires California installer Solar Watt Solutions
Duke Energy Renewables breaks ground on 50-MW North Carolina solar project
CenterPoint Energy seeks approval for 400 MW of solar power for Indiana utility customers
Experts recommend automatic enrollment in community solar programs for LMI groups

Exclusive SPW Content

Videos Podcasts Webinars Whitepapers

SPW Digital Editions

Solar Power World Digital EditionBrowse the current issue and archived issues of Solar Power World in an easy-to-use, high-quality format. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading solar construction magazine today.

Solar Policy Snapshot

Solar policy differs across state lines and regions. Click to see our monthly roundup of recent legislation and research throughout the country.

Read More >

Popular Posts See More >

Solar investment tax credit extended at 26% for two additional years
SolarJuice American to take over consumer contracts of bankrupt residential solar installer Petersen-Dean
What the Biden administration could mean for solar and storage
The changing state of retiring solar panels
Solar Power World
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Solar Articles
  • Top Products
  • Leadership
  • WTWH Media
  • About/Contact Us
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Windpower Engineering & Development

Copyright © 2021 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
    • 10th Anniversary Roundtables
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • Solar tariffs
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractors Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • Monthly Snapshots
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • 2020 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Inverters
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
    • Racking and Mounting
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Leadership
      • 2020 Winners
      • 2019 Winners
      • 2018 Winners
    • Podcasts
    • Product Databases
      • Solar Inverter Models
      • Solar Panel Models
      • Solar Racking Models
      • Battery Storage Models
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Inverter Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Solar Panel Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
      • Inverters
      • Solar panels
      • Roof-mount systems
      • Ground-mount systems
      • Residential energy storage systems
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers