Social Equity of Clean Energy Policies in Electric-Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Systems
Yohan Min, Hyun‐Woo Lee
Abstract
The recent climate change has led to the development of various clean energy polices and technologies. As a result, the current rapid transition of energy systems due to the development, has the potential to significantly impact on how communities respond to any undesirable climate-related events. However, ‘energy divide’ (inequalities in access to energy services), would be the result of uneven distribution of the clean energy technologies. Empirical analyses of residential electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Seattle, WA, revealed that (1) there is a clustered pattern in the distribution of the EV charger installations, (2) housing stability and economic status explain the uneven distribution, and (3) some neighbors are more sensitive to the economic status and housing stability in terms of residential EV charger installations. The study results revealed social equity issues based on the uneven distribution, i.e., certain communities are underserved for the clean energy technologies. The study results will help policy makers to better support any underserved communities (e.g., those who rent houses and have less finance for EV and charger) under limited resources by devising equitable incentive distributions in response to clean energy technologies.