Energy Transitions to Foster Community Resilience: A Collaborative Approach for the Sea Grant Network
Sean KellyOglethorpe A/B
Rural and isolated coastal communities face unique energy transition challenges. In rural Alaska, where imported fuels provide critical electricity and heating, energy transitions hinge upon energy affordability, security, and reliability. In Hawaiʻi, the disproportionate siting of large-scale solar and wind projects in rural, low-income, and Native Hawaiian communities has led to significant concerns around energy justice even as innovative community-based alternative energy co-ops offer important sovereignty and resilience benefits. Guam, an island highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, is in its early stage of promoting the adoption of sources of clean and renewable energy. In such contexts, energy transition challenges include ensuring equity and justice, understanding the social, cultural, ecological, and economic impacts of distributed energy systems, and training a local workforce. As a boundary organization, there is a role for the National Sea Grant. In partnership with the Department of Energy, several Sea Grant programs are conducting community engagement activities that will help illuminate community values, perceptions, and cultural contexts around energy resilience. There is an opportunity to extend similar applications to other programs across the Sea Grant network. The goal of this session will be to establish a Sea Grant Coastal Community Energy Transitions Community of Practice (CoP), inviting participation from all interested Sea Grant programs. The session will include presentations from each of the current project teams and an open discussion facilitated by session hosts. Please join us if you are interested in participating in the CoP or would simply like to join the conversation.