Solar with Justice Video Interview Series

Zareen Reza, Samantha Donalds, Warren Leon, Janelle Knox-Hayes, Tony Reames, Shauna Beland, Bayo Ware | Clean Energy States Alliance

The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) has produced a series of video interviews on the topic of advancing solar for low-and moderate-income communities through collaboration between state energy agencies and community-based organizations.

The interviews feature Janelle Knox-Hayes (MIT’s lead researcher for this project and Lister Brothers Associate Professor of Economic Geography and Planning in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning), Tony Reames (Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability and former U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Director for Energy Justice), Warren Leon (CESA Executive Director), Shauna Beland (Director of Energy Programs and Policy at the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources), and Bayo Ware (Project Manager on the Renewables Team at Energy Trust of Oregon).

“For state energy agencies, this research is critically important because it helps them to understand that there are differences across the organizations that they’re working with and they can develop strategics that respond to the specific needs of the CBOs within their region.”

Dr. Janelle Knox-Hayes, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT

“We know that communities of color and low-income communities bear the burden of the generation of much of our energy system; they can look outside their windows and see a smokestack but then not be able to afford their monthly energy bill.”

Dr. Tony Reames, Energy Justice Scholar, Government Policy Advisor

“Community organizations really understand the needs, the opinions and the perspectives of their residents, and they can help guide state policymakers in creating effective solar programs that actually will reach the intended audience and meet their needs.”

Dr. Warren Leon, CESA Executive Director

“We want to create programs in an equitable way, to really spend the time designing programs that will make a difference and help customers realize significant bill savings.”

Shauna Beland, Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources

“Really, it’s about leveraging the resources, expertise, knowledge and relationships that CBOs and state organizations both have, so that we can work together to achieve our shared goals.”

Bayo Ware, Energy Trust of Oregon

This video series was developed as part of CESA’s Solar with Justice: Connecting States and Communities project. The Solar with Justice project aims to bring together state energy agencies and community-based organizations developing solar for environmental justice communities to create opportunities for dialogue and collaboration.

The videos are based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Award Number DE-EE0009360.