Impacts and Viability of Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles

Achieving lower carbon emissions in the United States will require developing a large number of renewable energy facilities, including solar and wind, at a rapid pace, while simultaneously transitioning from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. These technologies have substantially lower carbon emissions than fossil-fuel-powered alternatives, but they do have impacts. Unfortunately, misinformation about those impacts, as well as the viability of these technologies, is widespread.

The Sabin Center created this resource bank so that advocates, landowners, and local residents in communities where renewable energy facilities are being proposed, as well as other members of the public, can reach informed opinions about renewable energy and electric vehicles. This resource bank contains peer-reviewed articles, government publications, and other science-based reports about the impacts and viability of these technologies. 

For additional resources on countering misinformation, see also the Sabin Center's report on Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles, as well as Clearing the Air: An Examination of Common Concerns about Offshore Wind Energy, a one-pager created in partnership with the Urban Ocean Lab.

Please contact Matthew Eisenson at [email protected] with questions or suggestions. The Sabin Center is grateful to Naomi Zimmermann, Radhika Goyal, and Zoe Tseng for their work on the resource bank.