Grantee Research Project Results
2024 Progress Report: Environmental Justice Impacts Across the Life Cycle of Energy Storage
EPA Grant Number: R840556Title: Environmental Justice Impacts Across the Life Cycle of Energy Storage
Investigators: Cantor, Alida , Berry, Kate , Blair, James , Mulvaney, Dustin
Institution: Portland State University , California State Polytechnic University - Pomona , San Jose State University , University of Nevada - Reno
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: July 1, 2023 through May 2, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: July 1, 2023 through June 30,2024
Project Amount: $649,492
RFA: Drivers and Environmental Impacts of Energy Transitions in Underserved Communities. (2022) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Early Career Awards , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Environmental Justice , Lifecycle assessment (LCA) , Social Science , Tribal Environmental Health Research , Water Quality , Watersheds
Objective:
The objective of this research is to understand the environmental justice impacts throughout the life cycle of renewable energy storage infrastructures and activities from a community-engaged perspective. The research seeks to understand how renewable energy transitions can occur in ways that maximize potential positive impacts and minimize potential negative impacts to underserved communities so as to strengthen environmental justice. Research questions include: (1) What are specific environmental justice issues at different points along the life cycle of renewable energy storage (including extraction, manufacturing, storage, and recycling)? (2) How do frontline communities view benefits and burdens associated with infrastructure and activities along the life cycle of renewable energy storage? What are the convergences and divergences between community perspectives and perspectives of other groups (including public natural resource agencies, project proponents, and other actors)? (3) What approaches to governance and implementation of renewable energy storage projects would be more attentive to environmental justice concerns, thereby increasing the potential for positive community impacts and reducing the potential for negative impacts to underserved and marginalized communities?
Progress Summary:
To date, the researchers have made progress on identifying and characterizing environmental justice issues across the life cycles of energy storage; understanding and characterizing community impacts & responses; understanding state & local policy landscape & responses; and understanding life cycles including flows of wastes and hazards, fire safety, community right to know, community benefit agreements, and emergency response. The researchers have made progress on case study research throughout the Western US investigating all of the above issues along each node of the life cycle represented in our case studies. The research team has begun conducting case study interviews as well as interviews with general experts. The researchers have designed a Q methodology study, to be implemented in the next reporting period.
Manuscripts in preparation include research paper on lithium-ion battery fires and California’s battery safety legislation prompted by fires at our case study of battery energy storage systems at Moss Landing, an article on community review and Native American consultation at Thacker Pass, an examination of lithium extraction in Oregon, and a manuscript on energy transition and the history of the site at Moss Landing, which remains the largest collection of stationary batteries in the world. We also have a paper under review in Sustainability Science that looks at the history of renewable energy development in the Salton Sea region which highlights a case of environmental justice dimensions of solar + storage facilities, which supply over 70% of new battery energy storage on the western electricity grid.
The research team has given presentations to community groups, including the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, the Oregon Association of Environmental Professionals (OAEP), C-GEO Geography Education for Oregon Teachers, Earthworks, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians’ Changing Currents: Tribal Water Summit, the California Council on Science and Technology, and more. The team has also shared research with local and state government agencies and boards. The team has given academic presentations at the National Academy of Sciences, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Oregon State University Geography Seminar Series, UC Davis Geography Speaker Series, Cal Poly Humboldt Geology Colloquium, Portland State University Environment, Climate, & Society Seminar Series, and more. The research has been featured in media which reaches a broader audience, including The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Inside Climate News, Yale Environment 360, KSQD Radio, and more.
Future Activities:
Future activities for the next reporting period include: continuing case study interviews and interviews with general experts; implementing a Q methodology study; and continuing participant observation on case studies; finalizing manuscripts in preparation or review; and developing synthetic research articles that integrate work across the case studies.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 3 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Tarroja B, Schoenung JM, Ogunseitan O, Kendall A, Qiu Y, Malloy T, Peters J, Mijin J, Mulvaney D, Heidrich O, Baumann M. Overcoming barriers to improved decision-making for battery deployment in the clean energy transition. iScience. 2024;27(6):109898. |
R840556 (2024) |
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Blair JJA, Vineyard N, Mulvaney D, Cantor A, Sharbat A, Berry K, Bartholomew E, Ornelas AF. Lithium and water:Hydrosocial impacts across the life cycle of energy storage. WIREs Water. 2024;11(6):e1748. |
R840556 (2024) |
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Cousins JJ, Cantor A, Turley B. Water throughout the green energy transition:Hydrosocial dimensions of coal, natural gas, and lithium. WIREs Water. 2024;11(6):e1751. |
R840556 (2024) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
renewable energy, storage, pumped hydropower storage, lithium, environmental justice, community benefitsRelevant Websites:
Water-Energy Nexus in the US West Exit
Unseen Connections: Water-Energy Transitions Exit
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.