We are no longer collecting responses for this survey, which was issued in 2021. The original survey remains available to view by following the link below.
Are you a solar developer serving residential, commercial, and/or utility-scale customers? If so, take this survey to help ILSR document the policy and utility behavior barriers to community solar, rooftop solar, and community-owned renewable energy.
Click to view the original survey
Why do this survey?
The purpose of this survey is to develop a picture of barriers to distributed renewable energy in several states, especially states that have robust distributed and community renewable energy policies. In particular, the survey focuses on barriers to project development. The anonymized and aggregate results will be published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Individual data will not be shared with any other organization or individual without the written permission of the survey respondent.
This survey asks questions about the development of “distributed renewable energy projects” which includes projects of any size connected on the customer side of the electric meter or interconnected to a distribution feeder or lower voltage line. It also includes projects 20 megawatts and smaller connected to the transmission system. The survey should take about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.
Why Trust ILSR?
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with a mission of building local power to confront corporate concentration across the economy. For over 40 years, our work on energy policy and advocacy has focused on expanding opportunities for individuals and communities to build and own their own power generation through distributed resources like solar energy. ILSR administers an annual survey of independent businesses used to support our research and advocacy efforts on behalf of local, independent business.
How Will This Data Be Used?
ILSR will publish the aggregate, anonymized results of this survey on its website and share it widely on social media. Survey results will guide ILSR’s work on distributed renewable energy policy and policy implementation across the U.S. To the degree that the survey exposes barriers and challenges for distributed renewable energy development, ILSR may use the anonymized survey results in testimony to legislatures, regulatory commissions, and other public bodies to advocate for improving market access for distributed renewable energy. With their express permission, ILSR may also work with individual respondents to connect them to legal resources to address grievances in the project development process.
At no time will individual survey responses be shared outside of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance without the express permission of the respondent. In particular, no data will be published or shared with any utility that would allow the utility to identify any particular survey respondent. We are well aware of the tightrope that distributed renewable energy project developers walk to stay in the utility’s good graces even as they produce power that may compete with the utility’s market share.