Identifying Rural Residents' Views about Integrating Solar Farms into Rural Landscapes of Nova Scotia

Abstract

Solar farms are increasingly being built in Canada as part of the national transition to renewable energy. Because they require large areas of land typically in more rural areas, solar farms can have landscape impacts concerning rural residents. In turn, this type of energy development has caused community pushback in some provinces of Canada. To better understand why resident resistance to solar farms occurs, this paper identifies rural residents’ views about integrating solar farms into rural landscapes of Nova Scotia, a province where community pushback has occurred, and solar farm development is increasing. Employing Q methodology, 18 rural residents of Berwick (n = 9), Mahone Bay (n = 6), and New Ross (n = 3) expressed their views by ranking 40 statements related to landscape impacts of solar farms. Subsequent semi-structured interviews revealed feelings toward rural landscape change and knowledge of solar farms. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two distinct views: (1) solar farms should either be integrated and embraced in; or (2) isolated and hidden from rural landscapes where people live, work, and/or recreate daily. Strong consensus around mitigating harm to local natural environments was also identified. Interview results indicate that the identified views represent two different types of expectations for how solar farms impact existing landscape uses and emotional connections. These insights build upon wider energy social science research and can inform land use policy and public engagement efforts seeking to advance sustainable solar farm development in Nova Scotia.