Breaking Through the Pro-Solar/Anti-Solar Binary

Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to the interactive nature of learning labs, only those with a seat may participate. Please arrive early to secure your spot!

Across the country, planners find themselves on the front lines of contentious debates about large-scale solar development. Neighbors who would like to lease their land for solar projects often find themselves at odds with (better organized) neighbors who oppose solar development on aesthetic, environmental, or political grounds. A fact that can get lost in this pro-solar/anti-solar binary is that not all large-scale solar projects are created equal.

Brief framing presentations introduce the concepts of agrivoltaics, ecovoltaics, and low-impact solar and highlight alternative zoning approaches that cities, towns, and counties can use to distinguish between different types of large-scale solar projects. Answer a series of poll questions about how location, site area, ground cover, and collocated uses affect your perceptions of how much a solar project will benefit your community. Finally, work in small groups to refine land use definitions for large-scale solar development that could help host communities capture and equitably distribute their fair share of benefits from solar projects. Reconvene for a whole-group exchange of ideas on unresolved questions and potential solutions.