Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development
Professor
435.797.4062
cathy.hartman@usu.edu
Edwin R. Stafford, Ph.D.
Professor
435.797.3890
ed.stafford@usu.edu
Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development (RERED) is an on-going research program that is funded by congressionally-directed and competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, called Wind Powering America. Marketing professors Cathy L. Hartman and Edwin R. Stafford, who are experts in the market diffusion of clean technology and green marketing, direct RERED. They have been research collaborators since 1995 and their academic research has been published in variety of business management and environmental policy journals including Environment, Business Strategy and the Environment, Business Horizons, Long Range Planning, and The Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Hartman and Stafford say they are betting on the American farm. Increasingly, America’s energy future will be harvested or grown on the farm with wind power and other energy sources (such as biofuels and solar) becoming lucrative cash crops of the 21st century. Specifically, Stafford and Hartman are studying how Utah can hurdle market, social, and policy barriers to benefit economically from these growing entrepreneurial opportunities and investigating how wind power development will impact Utah’s economy. With the help of a grant from the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation, RERED is also studying how wind power and other renewable energy sources will affect Utah’s retail electricity rates.
Findings from RERED’s research indicate that wind power development could bring several benefits to rural communities including construction and high-tech employment opportunities, lease payments to land owners, and tax revenues to support public schools and local communities. These research outcomes are the basis for marketing and education outreach initiatives that provide information to Utah legislators, regulators, wind entrepreneurs, county commissioners, educators, utility executives, citizens, and other decision makers who are setting the course for Utah’s energy future.
Links to recent research and news items:
- Utah Perspectives from the Second Annual Harvesting Energy Summit 2007: Outcomes from the "Dialogue Diner" and Stakeholder Panel Sessions
- An Analysis of the Economic Impact on Tooele County, Utah, from the Development of Wind Power Plants
- An Analysis of the Economic Impact on Utah County, Utah, from the Development of Wind Power Plants
- An Analysis of the Economic Impact on Box Elder County, Utah, from the Development of Wind Power Plants
- Green Marketing Myopia
Pictures of Projects
Passerby Kate Larson enjoys the wind turbines in Spanish Fork, Utah. (June 2008).
Victoria Stafford, Emily Ratliff, and Haley Stafford enjoy a windy day visit at the Spanish Fork wind project construction site (March 29, 2008).
Sandra Reategui, a recent graduate of the Huntsman School of Business/RERED, now employed as an economist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) presents at Utah State University's First Sustainable Energy Research and Climate Initiatives Conference on February 29, 2008.
Cathy Hartman and Edwin Stafford discuss future wind power plant locations with Dr. Dianne Nielson, Energy Advisor to Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. (October 19, 2007)
Edwin Stafford and Cathy Hartman visit a display by Utah-based developer Wasatch Wind at Wind Power 2007 Conference in Los Angeles, CA (June 4, 2007)
Greg Martin (Assistant City Manager, Monticello, Utah), Charlie DeLorme (Director, Economic Development, San Juan County, Utah), Cathy Hartman and Sandra Reategui (RERED) at anemometer on Jack Redd’s Ranch near Monticello, Utah (April 16, 2007).
Jim Larson (CFO and Controller, Sorenson Development, Inc.), Cathy Hartman and Ed Stafford (RERED) at the base of anemometer at the White Sage Ranch, Kanosh, Utah (July 15, 2005).
"Winds of Opportunity for Utah" billboard designed for Utah Energy Office Educational Outreach Campaign (2003-2004).