Abstract
Energy equity is the ability of the energy system to fairly distribute the benefits and burdens of the clean energy transition, while also guaranteeing that decision-making processes are fair, and stakeholders have access to information and can participate in the process. Distributed wind (DW) hybrid systems, or combinations of distributed energy resources with wind energy technologies, have potential to provide energy equity benefits for rural loads. However, project developers and end-users do not understand these benefits well.
This report outlines energy equity opportunities that result directly from DW-hybrid projects and proposes a framework that demonstrates how to advance equity in DW-hybrid systems, which can enhance existing resilience and valuation tools by incorporating a way to include equity considerations. The report draws from ongoing equity work, such as the Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative and the Department of Energy (DOE) Justice40 Initiative. It leverages the Idaho National Laboratory Resilience Framework and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Valuation Framework developed under the Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad research initiative, and it aligns with the case study reports developed by the Rural Area Distributed Wind Integration Network Development project.