Kirby Calvert

Dr. Kirby Calvert received his PhD in Geography (2013) at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario, where he worked with the Queen's Institute of Energy and Environmental Policy. Kirby joined the department in 2015 after a brief but fulfilling stint at The Pennsylvania State University (2013-2015). He specialize in the study of renewable energy development and transition management from the perspectives of human-environment studies, multilevel governance, and applied GIS.

Kirby's teaching and research program is best described as three interwoven threads:

1. Renewable energy mapping: combining site suitability analysis, spatial analysis, and participatory mapping to identify local opportunities for renewable energy generation. This work aims to provide decision-support for the integration of land-use and energy planning, and to better understand the land-use implications (land requirements) of more intensive renewable energy development
2. Changing energy landscapes: policy gap analysis (document analysis) and mixed qualitative methods to understand how social relations to land co-evolve with emerging forms of energy production and use (e.g., land-use planning systems; landscape values; land-based livelihood strategies)
3. Community energy planning: community engaged research to understand the barriers, opportunities, and implications related to the decentralization/evolution of energy planning systems, and the changing role of the 'community' in energy governance and energy transitions.