ENERGY JUSTICE AND COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS IN RIO GRANDE DO NORTE, BRAZIL
Solar photovoltaic energy; communities; energy justice; solar parks; socio-environmental impacts.
This thesis will consist of three chapters. The first article (already published) is a literature review of recent publications on the influence of large-scale photovoltaic solar energy production on communities near these projects. The second article focused on the theme of energy justice and its importance in promoting equity in energy production and distribution. Its objective was to analyze the influences that solar parks have on the underlying communities, as well as to ascertain the level of support from local residents, specifically in four rural communities in the municipality of Assú/RN (Brazil). Data collection was carried out using a survey questionnaire applied to a sample of community residents. The results showed that solar parks influence the communities both positively and negatively. Among the benefits, the issue of employability stands out, while the problems relate to increased heat, deforestation, and the invasion of wild animals into homes. In the four communities studied, adding those who fully support the solar park to those who partially support it, 70% of the total support is given. This significant percentage of acceptance of the solar park was due to the extensive participatory process of the residents in decision-making and a distribution of benefits, which, although not so significant for the residents in the communities surveyed, was sufficient to support the arrival of these projects. The third and final chapter, also to be submitted for publication, will consist of a comparative study on energy justice in the installation of solar and wind energy projects in Northeast Brazil, using a checklist methodology, with the construction of a comparative table.