How to engage rural Americans in the clean energy transition

The future of clean energy in America hinges on whether developers can continue to site projects in rural communities that are often hesitant to embrace the transition. 

Already, rural America is home to 83 percent of clean energy projects, and most future solar and wind projects are likely to be built on agricultural lands. But clean energy developers, corporate sustainability leaders and policymakers must engage and educate rural residents about the economic benefits clean energy bring to their communities. 

In recent years local opposition has led lawmakers in many states to set up barriers to block or restrict clean energy projects.

To learn more about where rural Americans stand on clean energy and how to better engage them, the Rural Climate Partnership commissioned public opinion firm Global Strategies Group to conduct online focus groups in late 2023, along with a survey of 1,800 registered voters in the spring of 2024 to gauge rural voters’ opinions in Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. 

Not in my backyard

The survey found that when rural residents are asked if they support wind and solar farms, half are supportive. But when it comes to building wind and solar in their own community, support drops to 37 percent. Why is that?

A common explanation for rural residents’ skepticism is the abundance of misinformation and disinformation about wind and solar farms on social media, in national media outlets and from local leaders.

While this misinformation presents a real challenge, the bigger issue appears to be the lack of trustworthy information about renewable energy reaching rural residents. Without good information from credible sources, opponents of clean energy, often funded by the fossil fuel industry, exploit genuine concerns to stoke opposition in rural communities about wind and solar farms.  

In focus groups, rural residents cited several concerns about clean energy in their communities. They worry about impacts on agriculture, particularly from solar farms, even though much more agricultural land is lost to development or used to grow crops for biofuels than to clean energy.

They also expressed concerns about the appearance of the solar or wind farms, whether wind and solar farms are reliable sources of energy and how much these projects cost and who will pay for them.

Make the benefits clear

Opponents have framed renewable energy as a cost and a burden for rural communities. Many rural people first think of loss: loss of farmland, loss of community character, loss of economic opportunity and potentially the loss of their natural environment. 

To help people see the opportunities and benefits the clean energy transition can provide for rural communities, developers need to make a significant strategic investment in engaging and educating those communities. 

For those working in clean energy, it can be easy to forget that not everyone knows about the technologies themselves. In focus groups, rural residents raised basic questions: Does solar work in the cold/snow? What happens when the wind isn’t blowing? And doesn’t all the energy just go to the city?

Sharing basic facts about wind and solar farms changes participants’ attitudes. Telling focus groups that “One acre of solar panels can power 80 homes” or “Every minute a wind turbine spins, a home can be powered for two days” helps people understand the efficacy of these technologies in a simple and accessible way. 

Persuasive messages

Other persuasive messages tested with focus groups that could be effective for communicating with rural audiences include:

• Benefits that protect family farms
  Renewable energy gives family farmers a valuable new income source, which means more family farmers can stay on their farms  instead of selling to big developers or corporate landowners.
  
• Increased diversification and reliability of energy
  New solar and wind farms will help make sure the power stays on if other energy sources fail. When Texas and North Carolina had massive storms in recent years, many gas plants failed but solar/wind provided a consistent lifeline” that kept working.
  
• Financial benefits to the local community
  Renewable energy means real benefits for local communities. New revenue means modernizing schools, better roads and lower property taxes for local residents.

After participants were exposed to these messages, researchers saw double-digit shifts in rural residents’ perceptions about the benefits of clean energy. The more specific clean energy supporters can be in connecting the benefits to local issues that people care about — preserving families’ farms, protecting water quality, investing in local infrastructure — the better. 

Local voices make the difference

As important as messaging is for communicating with rural audiences about clean energy projects, the messenger is just as critical. In focus groups, the voices that most resonated with groups were farmers, people that live in communities with wind and solar farms now, and third-party validators such as utility linemen, school superintendents or county clerks/auditors. 

Engaging with and supporting rural communities at the outset will be crucial for corporate sustainability leaders investing in or siting renewable energy projects. 

And approaching rural communities with respect and treating them as true partners through the process will benefit all involved. 

The speed and scale of the clean energy transition will be determined in the town halls, bars, churches and farm fields of rural America. Prioritizing genuine engagement with rural communities will give new projects the best chance of success.

[Learn what’s next in decarbonization, disclosure, nature and more at GreenBiz 25 — our premier sustainability event, Feb. 10-12, Phoenix.]