A comparative analysis of social vulnerability and proximity to coal‐fired power plants and windmill farms

Abstract

This research examines if there are differences in the social vulnerability of U.S. residents living within a five‐mile radius of a coal‐fired power plant compared to residents living within a five‐mile radius of a windmill farm (N = 5776) for facilities in operation as of April 2020. Two logistic regression models were created with demographic data for 2020 and 2010 to account for the decline of the coal power industry and rise of the wind power industry. Results suggest that U.S. census tracts with higher percentages of populations aged 25 and over with a Bachelor's degree, living in poverty, minorities, and employed in the utilities sector were significantly more likely to live within a five‐mile radius of a coal power facility than a wind power facility for both the 2020 and 2010 models. The only major discrepancy between the two models involved the percentage of owner‐occupied housing as the variable was only a significant predictor for the 2010 model. Census tracts with higher percentages of owner‐occupied housing were less likely to be located near a coal power facility.

An environmental justice analysis of air pollution emissions in the United States from 1970 to 2010

“…Several studies have used residential proximity to pollution sources as a metric to evaluate inequities. These studies have found racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the spatial distribution of industrial facilities 6,13 , landfills, hazardous waste sites 14,15 , gas 16 and coal-fired power plants 17 , roadways 18 , and other pollution sources 19,20 . Residential proximity studies are generally cross-sectional and often focus on a single air pollution source sector.…”