Community Response to Solar

In order to learn what the most common community reactions were to utility-scale solar energy projects in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Indiana, this study conducts a content analysis of locally-based newspaper articles. The data collection of articles was generated through a keyword search of all local newspaper articles in each targeted state from 1 January 2019 [M1] to 12 May 2020, a time period intended to capture the most recent experiences with solar at the genesis of this research project in Summer of 2020. In order to ensure that this study captured all of the newspaper mentions of utility-scale solar developments within these dates, a variety of terms for solar projects were tested. Ultimately, the terms “solar farm,” “solar development” and “solar project”—each in both the singular and plural form—provided the most full and focused sample. The data sample, as of 1/1/2019 to 5/12/2020, resulted in 153 articles for Michigan, 246 articles for Wisconsin, 149 articles for Minnesota, and 244 articles for Indiana.