Browsing by Subject "energy justice"

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    Energy and Equity in the Twin Cities Workshop Summary Report
    (2022) Ries, Heidi; Nelson, Edwin; Chan, Gabriel
    The Energy and Equity in the Twin Cities Workshop, jointly convened in November 2021 by the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment (IonE) and Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), fostered dialogue, collaboration, and new partnerships to drive local solutions promoting energy justice. This summary report is for people who are interested in learning about local efforts – including projects developed during the workshop – to build an equitable green energy future. It is also for people who are interested in organizing cross-disciplinary workshops rooted in equity and shared learning. The Energy and Equity in the Twin Cities Workshop sought to engage local organizations and communities that historically have been excluded from conventional energy policy convenings, which tend to cater to established experts rather than community leaders such as activists, artists, and storytellers. It also sought to engage those working to address household wellbeing and security. More specifically, the workshop aimed to advance conversation, connection, and solutions to energy injustice by building bridges between the still largely distinct fields of clean energy policymaking and frontline community advocacy.
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    Racial and Economic Disparities in Electric Reliability and Service Quality in Xcel Energy’s Minnesota Service Area
    (2024-02) Pradhan, Bhavin; Chan, Gabriel
    This paper asks whether disparities exist in access to shared infrastructure systems, focusing on the electric system, an essential service delivered by heavily regulated public utilities. We examine disparities in access to electricity service in the service area of Xcel Energy across three dimensions: utility disconnection, service reliability, and grid availability to host distributed energy resources. We quantify disparities across Census block groups by leveraging unique, high-resolution datasets of service quality and grid conditions that have only recently been made publicly available. We find significant and pervasive evidence of the disparities among different demographic groups across utility disconnection and service reliability. Across a battery of regression models, we find that living in poorer neighborhoods with a greater concentration of people of color is associated with a statistically and practically significant difference in the likelihood of disconnection from service due to non-payment and the experience of extended power outages. We also find evidence that hosting capacity for distributed generation is higher in disadvantaged communities and communities with high populations of people of color. These findings underscore the opportunity for policy initiatives to rectify deep-seated inequalities through affirmative investments and safety net programs that ensure all communities, regardless of their racial or economic composition, have equitable access to universal basic utility service and reliable, clean energy.