This project aims to conduct interdisciplinary research to explore how renewable energy development can be integrated into broad-based community resilience planning to benefit under-resourced communities in Appalachia.

This is an interdisciplinary team led by UVA representing Engineering, Economics, Business, Policy, Politics, Impact Investing and Community Engagement which will research how renewable energy can be developed to maximize positive community resilience impacts to under-resourced communities throughout Appalachia. We will work with a wide group of stakeholders and external partners (including wind, solar and hydro energy developers, local, state and federal policymakers, community groups, facilitators, UVA Wise and other anchor institutions in the region) to better understand whether and how renewable energy development projects can be advanced in a way that balances technical, social, political, economic and business needs, through “broad-based community resilience planning” which includes the potential for renewable energy development as one aspect of the community’s broader resilience goals. The key overarching research question is: Can broad-based community resilience planning lead to higher levels of community support for renewable energy projects? By “broad-based community resilience planning” we mean a community-wide strategic planning process that identifies the resilience needs and priorities of a given community, and the potentially varying needs of groups within that community.

This project is made possible due to funding from Environmental Institute (EI) through a subaward from UVA.