Abstract

The global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy has potential to mitigate or exacerbate injustices in the current energy system. Barriers to solar adoption can prohibit low-to-moderate income (LMI) households from realizing the financial benefits of ownership. At the same time, these households are more exposed to cost increases due to aging grid infrastructure and increased demand due to electrification. Procedural injustices mount when those renewables are sited without involving residents in decision-making. Community solar, which allows multiple owners or subscribers to benefit from a single solar array, is considered one solution to these distributional and procedural justice challenges because of its potential to localize energy benefits and decision-making. However, community solar projects and their outcomes vary widely. This study explores one community solar project in a rural community in the upper peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The project contained a carve-out for LMI households identified through participation in the National Weatherization Program (WAP). Through nine semi-structured interviews, 44 phone surveys, and analysis of two years of monthly energy consumption and bill data we sought to understand three energy justice impacts on the targeted community and participants’ perceptions of the program and its processes. We show that positive distributional, procedural, and recognition justice outcomes from community solar are achievable in a context without supportive legislation, under certain conditions. These results may have implications for expanding community solar to LMI households in small towns both in the United States and abroad.