URP 610, Section 4

This course considers the range of state and local policies that impact renewable energy development in urban, but especially rural communities, and the tools that planners can use to shape wind and solar projects. It covers not just policies traditionally associated with climate action—such as the carbon tax, cap and trade, RPS or municipal climate pledges—but also the suite of policies that facilitate or hinder renewable energy development from state tax policy to local land use laws regulation to infrastructure investment. It also explores the diverse stakeholders who shape these policies and the motivations behind their positions—from economic development, to energy independence, to landowners’ rights.