Rural Community Decarbonization

The Clean Energy Transition Institute has created two projects to explore the development of clean energy in Northwest rural communities. These efforts seek to center and elevate rural voices in clean energy policy discussions, ensuring rural communities are full participants in defining the benefits and challenges of decarbonization. We are incubating this initiative in Washington with hope of expanding it to the rest of the region.

Rural Community Decarbonization Projects

Ongoing

Assessing the Benefits of Community Photovoltaic Power Projects in Washington

CETI is working in partnership with the University of Washington to examine the potential benefits of community-scale solar development for rural communities. This work is ongoing.

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ongoing

Rural Clean Energy Economics and Community Engagement

CETI is working with Ross Strategic and Industrial Economics, Inc. on a Rural Clean Energy Economics and Community Engagement Study and Report for the Washington State Department of Commerce. This work is ongoing.

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October 2022

Claiming Power: Stories of Rural Communities and Clean Energy

Using short films and other media, Claiming Power tells stories of Washington state’s rural communities—from the Olympic Peninsula to the inland Northwest—as they navigate their relationship to land, energy, and economic opportunity as the region embraces decarbonization.

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September 2022

Community-Defined Decarbonization

Community-Defined Decarbonization has two goals: (1) to understand the barriers to decarbonizing buildings for the state’s rural and Tribal low-income, energy-burdened households, and (2) to determine whether decarbonization strategies and clean energy development could address energy inequities in these communities.

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