How Solar & Storage Projects Create Local Benefits and Strengthen Communities

Across the country, solar and energy storage projects are bringing lower costs and reliable energy to ratepayers. However, these benefits are not often realized by communities as these projects go through the planning and approval stages with local governments. Matt Traldi, Founder & CEO of Greenlight America, joins Good Energy to discuss his work mobilizing local supporters of clean energy projects to move the needle and get developers the needed permits to build.

Traldi founded Greenlight America after discovering that the biggest obstacle to clean energy deployment was the ability of developers to obtain the local permits needed, as small groups of project opponents spoke out louder than project supporters who generally did not show up to local permitting meetings. The organization identifies and trains local supporters of clean energy to best advocate on behalf of energy projects that are delivering local benefits. Greenlight has advocated on behalf of projects that now total 25 gigawatts of energy generation capacity.

Traldi notes that clean energy polls very well across communities and partisan lines, but he also recognizes the effort it takes for Greenlight’s volunteers to show up and speak out in favor of projects. He sees this advocacy work as highly impactful, with successful mid-size clean energy projects creating the equivalent environmental benefit of planting four million trees. He also steps into the shoes of a local county councilor, who is likely hyper-focused on the pros and cons of the project for their community, instead of national talking points. The tax revenues these projects provide to the mostly-rural communities that host them are crucial to preserving local ways of life.

Understanding that much of the discourse around energy projects can be rooted in misinformation, Traldi sees his role as an independent advocate to be driving positive conversations based on the benefits of these projects instead of spending too much time focused on fact-checking that can overexpose audiences to falsehoods.

For developers, there is a greater need to fact-check and provide technical explanations to communities on questions they have. He notes one example in which Greenlight was able to connect a developer with an organization concerned about how a project would affect the local watershed, and how the productive conversation the two parties had led the organization to end up supporting the project despite their initial skepticism.

The two situations where local supporters can make the biggest impact is (1) simply showing supportive elected officials that they have constituents in favor of hosting the project, and (2) showing undecided officials the breadth and depth of local support for the project. In his concluding remarks, Traldi notes how 5-10 years down the line, officials are widely positive about the benefits that the project brings to their locality.

From in-depth interviews with industry leaders to insightful discussions on the rapid growth of solar and storage in the United States, Good Energy connects you with the heartbeat of the solar industry. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just curious about the future of energy, tune in to stay informed and inspired about the bright future of solar. Listen to full episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.