On the economics of rooftop solar PV adoption

Duzgun Agdas and Prabir Barooah

Energy Policy, 2023, vol. 178, issue C

Abstract: Much has been written on the rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption in the U.S., but granular economic assessment at large scale is missing. We provide household level PV economic assessment for a medium size city in North Central Florida, and analyze the economic viability of these installations. Results show that a large number of households will not benefit from solar installations. Further, economic viability is heavily reliant on incentives whose future is uncertain at best. Our analysis did not reveal significant variations in economic viability across different household values — a proxy we used to differentiate household wealth. Yet, building permits and installation locations indicate economically disadvantaged communities have much lower installation rates as has been the main conclusion in the earlier literature. We argue economic assessment for PV should extend beyond simple benefit–cost analysis. A more nuanced approach should be taken in PV feasibility assessment, and structuring incentive schemes.

Keywords: Solar photovoltaics; Economic analysis; Energy burden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523001969

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113611

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