Location, location, location. Place matters a lot when it comes to the impact solar panels can have on the environment. The biggest environmental benefit comes from regions powered by coal. If your local electric utility runs on coal and you install solar panels on your home, it means that the power plant doesn’t have to burn as much coal to power your home, and that is really good for the climate.
In this episode of Ways & Means: getting strategic when it comes to solar subsidies. This is the second episode in our series, Climate Change Solutions.
Guests
- Joe Opyoke, retired coal miner
- Elizabeth Opyoke Cruikshank, Solar Holler in West Virginia
- Bobby Harris, PhD Environmental Economics and Policy, Duke, ’22
- Steven Sexton, professor, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Resources
- Bobby Harris contributed to a paper that shows the benefits of rooftop solar varies greatly across the U.S. He also has work related to solar and benefits received by households of color.
- Subscribe to Ways & Means
- Find out more about host Simran Sethi
- Read the transcript
- Listen to episode 1 in the series Climate Change Solutions, Paying for a Healthy Planet
- Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment
Thank you
Duke student Joy Liu designed the artwork for the season.
West Virginia reporter Molly Born
Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.