Despite the impression that large solar farms are constantly sparking local fights, a new study from researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that most large-scale solar projects in the US move forward with relatively little public opposition.
The study, published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, looked at 686 utility-scale solar projects that came online between January 2022 and November 2023. Researchers found that 56% of the projects fell into “no” or “low” conflict categories, while just 19% experienced high levels of conflict.
The findings push back against the idea that opposition to solar development is widespread across the US.
“All I saw in the news was conflict, conflict, conflict over solar,” said lead author Juniper Katz, assistant professor of public policy at UMass Amherst. “But there was really very little research that operationalized what conflict means and looked at it from a national scale to understand if the appearance of conflict was as prevalent as it seemed.”
What else researchers found
Researchers also found that utility-scale solar projects approved through state-level permitting systems tended to face less conflict than those reviewed under local or hybrid permitting systems.
However, Katz cautioned that the study shouldn’t be interpreted as proof that state-level permitting systems are automatically better than local review processes. Instead, she said the findings point to the need for more research into how different permitting structures affect public participation and project outcomes.
Larger solar projects were more likely to generate opposition, but one finding stood out: The political makeup of the surrounding community didn’t appear to make much difference. The study found no statistically significant link between the share of Democratic voters near projects and levels of opposition.
That differs from some earlier studies on wind energy projects, which often found that wealthier, whiter, or more Democratic communities were more likely to oppose development.
“We shouldn’t just assume that all renewable energy is the same in terms of how it gets from conception to buildout,” Katz said.
The researchers measured conflict by analyzing news coverage and social media posts containing terms tied to public disputes, including “protest,” “lawsuit,” and “opposition.”
The study is the first to systematically examine the relationship between permitting systems and solar conflict across the US.
Why this matters now
The report lands as electricity demand is climbing across the US, driven in part by expanding data centers. Utilities and governments are racing to add new power generation, especially renewable energy, while trying to keep electricity costs from rising even faster.
Katz said that understanding what drives opposition to renewable energy will become increasingly important as more large-scale energy projects are proposed.
Read more: One of North America’s largest solar farms just came online in Texas
*Disclosure: My husband works for UMass Amherst, but doesn’t work with the department that did this study.
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