Jeremy Firestone

Professor, Marine Science and Policy University of Delaware

  • Newark DE

Prof. Firestone's major research focus is renewable energy transition.

Contact

University of Delaware

View more experts managed by University of Delaware

Biography

Jeremy Firestone's major research focus is renewable energy transition. Firestone analyzes human behavior related to commercial-scale deployment (e.g., offshore wind power) and personal decision-making (e.g., rooftop solar and electric vehicles), along with planning and decision-making.

Firestone was the Director of UD Center for Research in Wind (CReW) from 2011-2022 and is knowledgeable about renewable energy, climate change policy, Indigenous issues, and wildlife conservation and management.

An attorney as well as a policy scientist, Firestone served as assistant regional counsel for the EPA and assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, in the environmental protection and natural resources divisions.

Firestone presently serves on the US Department of Energy/BOEM-focused National Academies Standing Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment (COSA) and on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Advisory Panel.

Areas of Expertise

Energy Justice
Wind Power
Climate Change Policy
Renewable Energy Transition
Renewable Energy
Land Use/Spatial Planning

Media Appearances

New Englanders support more offshore wind power – just don’t send it to New York

Yahoo News  online

2022-04-29

In Rhode Island, home to the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., most people support expanding offshore wind power – with one important caveat.

View More

If you warm your home with natural gas, expect higher heating bills this winter

The News Journal  online

2021-10-21

With cold months ahead, your utility bills might be higher than you’re used to.

National residential natural gas rates rose 12% from June to July and are up more than 30% since the end of August. Every state except Kansas saw an increase.

View More

Northeast governors need Biden to deliver on offshore wind

Politico  online

2021-03-31

Northeast governors built their climate agendas on the promise of offshore wind. The only problem: They’ll need help from Washington to realize their goals.

View More

Articles

Pluralizing energy justice: Incorporating feminist, anti-racist, Indigenous, and postcolonial perspectives

Energy Research & Social Science

2023

Justice represents not only a moral obligation but can enhance the legitimacy and acceptance of a rapid push toward global decarbonization. Innovations in technology, even those geared toward sustainability, can both reinforce and introduce new inequalities and disparities across populations, while also perpetuating environmental degradation.

View more

Winds of change: examining attitude shifts regarding an offshore wind project

Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning

2022

Understanding how local attitudes toward commercial-scale renewable energy change over time should provide insight into how to engage communities and influence public acceptance during the energy transition. To augment the scarcity of longitudinal research on social acceptance of renewable energy, we use a mixed methods approach to explore how opinions regarding the Block Island Offshore Wind Project changed over time.

View more

Community cognitive and affective perceptions of land-based and ocean wind energy infrastructure

Science Talks

2022

In this research, we compare and synthesize results from two separate survey projects concerning community perceptions of wind energy. In particular, we are comparing and contrasting cognitive and affective (emotional) responses. One survey is a nationally representative sample of the United States and looks at land-based wind technology wherein we also compare pre- and post-project construction move-in samples.

View more

Show All +

Research Grants

Co-Principal Investigator, Advancing transformational energy justice across the renewable energy supply chain

Sloan Foundation

June 1, 2023-May 31, 2025

Co-Principal Investigator, Rising

DNREC Information Gaps Analysis

June 1, 2023-February 29, 2024

Co-Principal Regional Community Attitudes Regarding Procedural and Distributive Justice Dimensions of Southern New England Offshore Wind Development

NE Sea Grant Consortium

February 1, 2022-January 31, 2024

Show All +

Accomplishments

Certificate of Appreciation

1995

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Environmental Protector Award

1989

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Certificate of Achievement

1988

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Education

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

PhD

Public Policy Analysis

2000

The University of Michigan Law School

JD

1986

University of Michigan

BS

Cellular and Molecular Biology

1980

Event Appearances

How do emotions affect the dynamics of social acceptance, and what can be done about it?

12th St. Gallen Forum for Management of Renewable Energies  University of St. Gallen

Public attitudes toward, and human behavior regarding, potential offshore wind power developments

Green Drinks  

Block Island Offshore Wind Power Project Studies

Annual Board Meeting  Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC)