Siting Utility-Scale Renewables for Community Benefit: What’s Working, Where, and Why

As electricity demand rapidly accelerates across the United States, state and local governments are facing urgent pressure to scale utility-scale renewable energy.  Yet in this fastmoving landscape, restrictive local siting policies and local community opposition are blocking or delaying projects at a critical moment—limiting progress toward clean energy goals and cutting communities off from economic, environmental, and social benefits that they could otherwise capture. Experts across the country are finding new ways to increase capacity at the local level to ensure local officials have the tools and resources needed to engage with complexities in the siting process.

By helping local officials meet ambitious climate goals and understand the technical, regulatory, and community complexities of clean energy deployment,  practitioners are addressing expertise, resource, and capacity gaps. This model of support can help with updating outdated regulations, mitigating community opposition through engagement, and, overall, is demonstrative of what is possible when communities are at the center of policy design and have the necessary technical assistance available to them.

Join the World Resources Institute for a one hour webinar spotlighting these real world trends and highlighting WRI’s research into practical, responsible, and balanced siting policies that create transparent and predictable regulations for renewable energy deployment and secure community benefits. Participants will hear from experts driving innovative  solutions across the country—from direct engagement with local governments to providing resources for those on the ground. Whether you are a local official, planner, state policymaker, energy practitioner, or community stakeholder, this session will offer timely insights into how communities have successfully increased local capacity to meet local needs, access benefits, and pave the path to a clean energy future.

Speakers:

• Kendra Kostek, Siting Resources Center

• Cleo Carter, NC Clean Energy Technology Center