Spatial Characteristics of the Diffusion of Residential Solar Photovoltaics in Urban Areas: A Case of Seoul, South Korea

Moon-Hyun Kim and Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim
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Moon-Hyun Kim: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Interdisciplinary Program in Landscape Architecture, and Environmental Planning Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Mini-solar photovoltaics, which are installed on apartment balconies, are rapidly spreading in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul has implemented a policy to diffuse mini-solar photovoltaics in apartments for energy transition since 2012. The policy considers compact land use and a large population of the city. This study examines a variety of variables in relation to the adoption of mini-solar photovoltaics. In particular, we focus on peer effects, namely, those of spatially adjacent, previously installed mini-solar photovoltaics. As apartment characteristics, four variables are selected to assess both within and between apartment complexes: one for the density of adopters as a within-complex variable and three for the number of adopters in the 500 m, 1 km, and 1.5 km radius of apartment complexes as between-complex variables. A major finding is that peer effects significantly contribute to the new adoption of mini-solar photovoltaics. Implications of this finding are discussed in an urban context.

Keywords: peer effects; diffusion of innovation; residential solar photovoltaic; renewable energy; urban area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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