News Tip: Experts Available to Comment on Biden’s Solar Plan

News Tip: Experts Available to Comment on Biden’s Solar Plan

The Biden administration released a renewable energy report on Wednesday that highlights the potential for solar energy to power 40 percent of American homes and businesses by 2035.

To meet the U.S. Department of Energy’s projections outlined in the study, the amount of solar energy in the nation’s power grid would need to increase tenfold.

The following Duke University experts offer comments for your coverage and are available for additional comment.

Lori Bennear
Quote:
“Among the many details that will need to be worked out is how to ensure that the benefits of rooftop solar are accessible to all households, including in lower-income, non-white neighborhoods and among renters. These households are often ignored in current rooftop solar efforts,” says Lori Bennear, an associate professor of energy, economics and policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment.

Bio:
Lori Bennear
is an associate professor of energy, economics and policy and the senior associate dean for educational programs at the Nicholas School of the Environment. Her research focuses on evaluating environmental policies and improving methods and techniques for incorporating evaluation into the regulatory process.
https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/loribennear/

For additional comment, contact Lori Bennear at:
lori.bennear@duke.edu.


Timothy Johnson
Quote:

“The administration’s solar energy deployment goal is at a scale that will present unprecedented challenges to grid operations, land availability and eventually photovoltaic panel recycling,” says Timothy Johnson, professor of the practice of energy and the environment in the Nicholas School of the Environment.
https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/johnson-0

Bio:
Timothy Johnson is a professor of the practice of energy and the environment in the Nicholas School of the Environment. He studies energy systems planning, with a focus on environmental quality and energy consumption.

For additional comment, contact Timothy Johnson at:
timothy.l.johnson@duke.edu.


Brian Murray

Quote:
“Ramping up solar this dramatically is possible, but it will call for supportive policies and robust investments in solar generation, the transmission grid and relevant technologies,” says Brian Murray, interim director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the Duke University Energy Initiative. “This is what it will take to further drive down the price of solar and ensure we can move electricity from where it is most cost-effectively generated to where it is used.”

Bio:
Brian Murray is the interim director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the Duke University Energy Initiative. Murray is widely recognized for his work on the economics of energy policy, particularly as it relates to efforts to mitigate climate change risk. He was a convening lead author of the previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on greenhouse gas mitigation from land use change.
https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/people/brian-murray

For additional comment, contact Brian Murray at:
bcmurray@duke.edu


Media Contact:
Amanda Solliday
amanda.solliday@duke.edu

_ _ _ _

Duke experts on a variety of political and public policy topics can be found here.

Follow Duke News on Twitter: @DukeNews