Assistant Scientist Olsson Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Presentation Description: My research is focused on understanding the experience of renewable energy developers, state and federal regulators, and environmental nonprofits in navigating environmental planning for renewable energy projects in the Central U.S./Great Plains region. The goal of this research is to begin to understand the experience of these three stakeholder groups in navigating environmental considerations of utility-scale wind and solar projects by gathering qualitative data from individuals who are navigating this landscape daily. I focused on the Great Plains region – North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas – because this is a U.S. region with a similar level of regulatory oversight and associated guidance in place, which allows for a more in-depth understanding of the nuances of the voluntary side of environmental siting of projects. I conducted 56 hour-long interviews across my three groups of interest, including 19 developers representing 15 development firms, 18 regulatory staff members from state and federal agencies, and 19 environmental nonprofit staff members representing 10 nonprofit organizations. This presentation will provide insight into how these three stakeholder groups currently approach siting consultation and siting resources, the differences between wind and solar siting and consultation, and potential pathways moving forward. My research provides a multitude of perspectives on the current challenges and opportunities within siting of renewable energy projects in an effort to spark collaborative conversations about how to proceed with environmental siting.
