Environmental & Social Justice

Community solar is on the move. Just a few weeks ago, Minnesota’s Xcel Energy opened up a solicitation for new community solar projects. Expecting approximately 100 megawatts to be proposed, it received more than four times that amount.

It is no secret that the residential solar market is booming. Declining panel prices, the rise of third-party PPAs, and the spread of the Solarize model—these are familiar storylines to anyone with a passing knowledge of the solar industry. And those of us with a passion for clean energy are more than happy to share the good news.

Across the prosperous state of California communities struggle to achieve clean, safe and affordable water in their taps and streams. Fellows Mike Antos and Carolina Balazs report on the outcome of a Switzer Network Innovation Grant aimed at providing the state's Department of Water Resources with policy and practice recommendations to ensure environmental justice is integrated into future funding and planning decisions.

A coalition of environmental and social justice groups has come together to declare collective disgust with the spending of billions of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary subsidies for the oil and gas industries when that same money could be used to improve the lives of millions if spent on social services, renewable energy investments, healthcare, and education. ...

The EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan drew praise from environmental advocates who have long hoped that Washington would finally take action to limit greenhouse gas emissions and address the threat of climate change. Criticism, perhaps predictably, came from a combination of climate change deniers, coal-reliant communities worried about potential job loss, and business interests bemoaning possible higher energy costs.