Public acceptance of renewable energy after the power crisis in the context of climate change

Keywords: Renewable energy, power crisis, sentiment analysis, socio-environmental impact
Abstract Type: Virtual Poster Abstract

Abstract

Climate change has been happening since the industrial revolution, increasing the likelihood or severity of extreme weather events. Scientists explored many solutions to mitigate climate change, among which renewable energy is one of the most effective tools. Public support for clean energy is critical in transitioning from fossil fuel to renewable energy. Previous studies have found broad public support for renewables in the US. However, increased reliance on renewables may pose some risks to electric grid reliability in extreme weather events, such as the 2021 Texas power crisis resulted from record-low temperatures and the 2022 Sichuan power crisis due to a record-breaking heat wave and drought, which may shift public opinion on renewable energy. Therefore, our study aimed to explore the influence of a wide area of renewable-energy-related power outages on the public acceptance of renewables using the example of the 2021 Texas power crisis.

We obtained public opinions in the US from Twitter by collecting tweets about renewable energy. We extracted tweets posted in the US between 2020 and 2021 to better capture the public attitude changes after the 2021 Texas power crisis. Besides, we identified sentiment information using sentiment analysis, which applies natural language processing and text analysis techniques. Finally, we synthesized demographic data, remote sensing imagery, and geotagged Twitter data to map the socio-environmental impact on public opinions of green energy. A comprehensive assessment of public acceptance and socio-environmental impact during and after an energy crisis will inform policymaking in accelerating renewable energy deployment.