Superstorm Sandy highlighted the vulnerability of US energy systems. The storm resulted in power outages to 8.6 million customers and gasoline shortages in New York and New Jersey. Extending research already underway on the values that inform Smart Grid development and use as well as barriers to implementation, collaborators from four regions in the US will explore if and how Sandy will influence political and policy discourse about energy infrastructure and security and whether it does so in regions not directly impacted by the storm. To address these research questions, this RAPID response grant, funded by the Science, Technology & Society Program and the Energy for Sustainability Program, will document discourse among energy sector actors and the media in four different U.S. regions: New York and New Jersey (those areas hardest hit), Massachusetts (a New England region which was less severely hit), Minnesota (a Midwest region which was not directly affected), and Texas (a Gulf region which is vulnerable to hurricanes but was not directly disrupted by Superstorm Sandy). Documenting discursive shifts or stability in different regions in the aftermath of an event like Superstorm Sandy will contribute to environmental communication theory by refining our understanding of how natural disasters combine with existing communication networks to influence political salience. This research will also contribute to the socio-technical transitions literature by illuminating the potential of natural disasters like Sandy to influence socio-technical transitions toward sustainability. The researchers' results will enable energy professionals, state and regional planners, policy analysts, non-profits, and businesses to develop more effective strategies for transitioning to more secure and sustainable energy systems.
Research Abstract The devastation and disruptions of Superstorm Sandy provide emerging discursive linkages between the critical issues of energy infrastructure investments and climate change preparedness in the United States. This particular disaster highlighted the vulnerability of energy systems including electricity infrastructure damage that resulted in power outages to 8.6 million customers and gasoline distribution challenges leading to severe gasoline shortages in New York and New Jersey. Superstorm Sandy also re-introduced climate change into the political discourse of the 2012 Presidential election, where it had been previously absent. New levels of societal awareness of linkages between energy systems resilience and climate change vulnerability create synergistic opportunities for shifting societal prioritization. Prior to this research, it was unclear how the heightened awareness of these linkages would influence energy discourse and whether the heightened awareness expanded to regions of the country not directly impacted by the storm. This research project explored how Superstorm Sandy influenced energy discourse, specifically the implementation of smart grid technologies, in the U.S. Our research team, including researchers from Clark University, Texas A&M University, University of Minnesota and SUNY-ESF explored how Superstorm Sandy has affected actors’ views on the connections between smart grid, energy systems and climate change. More frequent and intense storms focus attention on system resilience, climate mitigation and climate adaptation/preparedness in electricity system change. During this project we examined (1) post-Sandy reactions of key energy stakeholders in New England, the Midwest, and Texas immediately after the event using interviews and focus groups; and (2) post-Sandy news media reporting to capture climate and energy discourse surrounding the possible deployment of Smart Grid in replacement of the currently devastated energy transmission infrastructure. States included in this study were Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas and California. Project Findings Analysis of almost 1,000 newspaper articles focusing on Superstorm Sandy from October 2012-October 2013 found that more articles mention energy (54%) than climate change (14%). Only 10% mention both climate change and energy. Within the newspaper coverage that mentions both climate change and energy, the dominant themes are climate adaptation and energy system vulnerability. Results of our extensive set of focus groups and interviews are still being determined. Project Outcomes This research has contributed insights on how disruptive events influence public discourse about energy system change and climate change. The results of this research are being disseminated through multiple mechanisms including academic journal articles, research posters, professional conference and meeting presentations, popular press, and a project website with a variety of information accessible as PDFs (https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/smartgrid/home). We also developed a 3-page research summary that we have distributed to the over 200 individuals who participated in our research through interviews and focus groups.
