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�������� Environmental Policy graduate student Elle Gasperini was recently awarded a Graduate Research and Creative Opportunities Grant from Western’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for her work on researching, building and implementing a more solar-friendly energy policy.

Under her advisor, Professor of Environmental Studies Mark Neff, Gasperini is conducting a case study comparing how small-scale solar adoption has played out in Bellingham and Burlington, Vermont. She wants to understand more about the factors impacting solar adoption and implications for future state-level policy and equitable outcomes. She chose to focus on these two cities because they receive comparable amounts of sunlight, yet Washington has much less solar power in place than Vermont. 

Initially, Gasperini hypothesized that Burlington would have more solar adoption than Bellingham as Vermont currently has more solar capacity than Washington overall — solar makes up only about one percent of Washington state’s electricity capacity but 17 percent of Vermont’s. However, Gasperini’s research revealed the cities have very similar amounts of solar capacity, which highlights that there are other factors at play, for example, the prevalence of slate roofs in Vermont, which do not support solar installations.  

This insight led Gasperini to reconsider policy supporting only small-scale solar. Small-scale solar is often only accessible to homeowners, which overlooks a big chunk of the population. Large-scale solar requires vast tracts of land and faces difficulties transmitting power to distant consumers. But, Gasperini said, mid-size solar solutions are gaining popularity by utilizing large spaces above existing structures like shopping complexes, which are closer to local grids. The key obstacle with the mid-scale approach is that it challenges utility companies’ business models and places demands on infrastructure.

Gasperini emphasizes that after state policy, utility companies have the greatest influence on solar adoption.

“The business model that utility companies are operating under was created for a very different energy system than the one we need in the future. A community having their own solar is threatening to utility companies, so they oppose policies that would support that.

Figuring out how to change the incentives in their operating structure is going to be important,” she said.  

Gasperini studied environmental policy as an undergraduate at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. As a graduate student, she said she appreciates the small cohort size of Western’s Environmental Studies Program and the flexibility to carve out her own research path.

Gasperini said her advisor, Mark Neff, has been very supportive, and has helped connect her with energy policy faculty for her research committee.

“Having a team of people with different experiences that I can learn from has been a major highlight of the program. How much my perspective has shifted has been amazing, and I think it reflects the learning process. Having a chance to just dive deeply into something for two years is a really cool opportunity,” Gasperini said.  

“Elle’s work is crucial if we are to understand the factors influencing the uptake and adoption of technologies that will allow societies to transition away from fossil fuels. Her work is yielding insights that can help inform policy and advocacy at the local and state level, and it is a reminder about how much change is possible even when national politics around climate change are bogged down in partisanship,” Neff said.

After she graduates Gasperini plans to pursue a career in energy policy at the state level, either conducting research to support intentional policy design or working to support changes in utility regulation that would align utility interests with renewable energy and equity goals.  

Find out more about Western’s graduate program in Environmental Studies at .