The Race and Energy Nexus

Our entire country is engaged in a broad and long-overdue examination of the roles that race and racism play in our society – our legal system, workforce, communities, politics, schools and more. Race also plays a role in energy – who has access to it, how much they pay for it, who works in the energy industry, who lives near our power plants, and who has a seat at the table to determine energy choices that town, city, state and federal governments make on our behalf.

This paper examines three broad categories of the race and energy nexus:

1. Jobs and economic opportunity
2. Energy affordability and insecurity
3. Power generation and other siting