Comprehensive community planning issues related to the widespread utilization of solar energy

The use of solar energy to meet future United States energy demands is of growing importance, as conventional energy sources are rapidly being depleted. The widespread utilization of solar energy will require major initiatives at all governmental levels, involving a wide range of actors. Local comprehensive planners will be particularly important to the diffusion of solar energy technologies. This thesis is an examination of local comprehensive planning issues related to the use of solar energy.

The role of comprehensive planning in the diffusion of solar technologies is addressed in Chapter I. Chapter II contains an overview of solar thermal, thermal electric, and electric technological options, and also defines the generic solar applications (decentralized, intermediate, and centralized) which are examined in the remaining chapters. Comprehensive solar planning issues, both qualitative and quantitative, and solar impacts are discussed in Chapter III. Chapters Iv and V describe one possible approach to the integration of solar planning into the comprehensive community planning process. The process of goal formulation; data collection; plan formulation, evaluation and selection; and implementation is discussed in these chapters. Chapter VI presents conclusions and recommendations for future research.