Week 1: Plugging Into Solar

Hey everyone! Today marks a week since I have officially started working on my Senior Project. On Wednesday, I met with my remote advisor, Dr. Martha Lenio, where we discussed how I should begin structuring my research. Given that many factors play a role in shaping solar adoption in New York City, we focused on organizing the neighborhoods I would conduct my interviews in to allow for relevant comparisons. In the end, we decided to select four neighborhood types: two lower-income and two higher-income, with each representing a different building typology (either high-rise or low-rise). By using this structure, I will be able to compare whether building type or income level has a greater impact on solar adoption in NYC, without guessing as to which factors are at play. 

Over the past couple of days, I have also been working to build upon my knowledge of solar energy adoption in New York City through a detailed literature review. Namely, I have consulted the sources listed below: 

1. Unveiling the shadows: a qualitative exploration of barriers to rooftop solar photovoltaic adoption in residential sectors
2. The impact of city-level permitting processes on residential photovoltaic installation prices and development times: An empirical analysis of solar systems in California cities
3. Integrating Solar Energy in Urban Development: Strategies for Sustainable and Smart Cities
4. Transforming Urban Energy: Developments and Challenges in PV Integration
5. Energy Efficiency in NYC: The Problem of Split Incentives
6. Shady solar: understanding barriers and facilitators to residential solar adoption for low- and moderate-income homeowners in New York City
7. Cost-Effective Solar Strategies for Affordable Housing in NYS

Throughout my readings, I was intrigued by the concept of community solar as a means to adopt solar energy without directly installing panels on your roof. In Shady solar: understanding barriers and facilitators to residential solar adoption for low- and moderate-income homeowners in New York City, Bansal and others introduced community solar as a direct policy response to the structural barriers facing low to moderate-income renters in New York City. Given that 67% of residents in NYC are renters, I would like to dive deeper into both the scope and community awareness of community solar in the city. In the upcoming weeks, I plan to continue researching programs like community solar, which seek to overcome the barriers related to solar energy adoption in urban areas. Moreover, I also plan to use these insights to shape my interview questions later on in my research. I am excited to continue this process while keeping you all updated as my research develops!