IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v147y2025ics0140988325003834.html

The “pink tax” for solar panels: Financial returns on solar investments by gender in Los Angeles, California

Author

Listed:
  • Pereira, Rui
  • O'Connell, Timmy

Abstract

Residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have become increasingly common in the United States. However, there have been gender, racial and socioeconomic disparities in both the adoption of and returns from investments in solar PV. This paper examines the “pink tax” for solar panels by examining gender-based differences in the financial returns for residential rooftop solar installations using a cash flow model for Los Angeles, CA matched to socioeconomic and demographic data from the Census Bureau. The analysis shows that women tend to see lower rates of return on investment in solar PV systems stemming, in part, from higher costs paid for these systems per watt installed. There is also evidence that women tend to be sold larger systems which can generate a more significant financial burden for systems with a lower rate of return.

Suggested Citation

  • Pereira, Rui & O'Connell, Timmy, 2025. "The “pink tax” for solar panels: Financial returns on solar investments by gender in Los Angeles, California," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:147:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325003834
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108559
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988325003834
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108559?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agdas, Duzgun & Barooah, Prabir, 2023. "On the economics of rooftop solar PV adoption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    2. Ros, Agustin J. & Sai, Sai Shetty, 2023. "Residential rooftop solar demand in the U.S. and the impact of net energy metering and electricity prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. O'Shaughnessy, Eric, 2022. "Rooftop solar incentives remain effective for low- and moderate-income adoption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. O'Shaughnessy, Eric & Grayson, Alexandra & Barbose, Galen, 2023. "The role of peer influence in rooftop solar adoption inequity in the United States," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    5. Chen, Li-Zhong & Hu, Wei-Min & Szulga, Radek & Zhou, Xiaolan, 2018. "Demographics, gender and local knowledge — Price discrimination in China’s car market," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 172-174.
    6. John Yinger, 1998. "Evidence on Discrimination in Consumer Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 23-40, Spring.
    7. Best, Rohan & Chareunsy, Andrea, 2022. "The impact of income on household solar panel uptake: Exploring diverse results using Australian data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    8. Deborah A. Sunter & Sergio Castellanos & Daniel M. Kammen, 2019. "Disparities in rooftop photovoltaics deployment in the United States by race and ethnicity," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 71-76, January.
    9. Anne Fitzpatrick, 2017. "Shopping While Female: Who Pays Higher Prices and Why?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 146-149, May.
    10. Lemay, Amélie C. & Wagner, Sigurd & Rand, Barry P., 2023. "Current status and future potential of rooftop solar adoption in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    11. Uz, Dilek & Mamkhezri, Jamal, 2024. "Household willingness to pay for various attributes of residential solar panels: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    12. Gao, Xue & Zhou, Shan, 2022. "Solar adoption inequality in the U.S.: Trend, magnitude, and solar justice policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    13. Tsvetanov, Tsvetan, 2019. "When the carrot goes bad: The effect of solar rebate uncertainty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 886-898.
    14. Crago, Christine L. & Grazier, Emma & Breger, Dwayne, 2023. "Income and racial disparities in financial returns from solar PV deployment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    15. Badole, Sachin B. & Bird, Stephen & Heintzelman, Martin D. & Legault, Lisa, 2024. "Willingness to pay for solar adoption: Economic, ideological, motivational, and demographic factors," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    16. Margarita Machelett, 2023. "Gender price gaps and competition: Evidence from a correspondence study," Working Papers 2333, Banco de España.
    17. Cook, Jeffrey J. & Cruce, Jesse & O'Shaughnessy, Eric & Ardani, Kristen & Margolis, Robert, 2021. "Exploring the link between project delays and cancelation rates in the U.S. rooftop solar industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    18. Bello, Piera, 2023. "Gender-based price discrimination in the annuity market: Evidence from Chile," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    19. Corbett, Charles J. & Hershfield, Hal E. & Kim, Henry & Malloy, Timothy F. & Nyblade, Benjamin & Partie, Alison, 2022. "The role of place attachment and environmental attitudes in adoption of rooftop solar," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    20. J. Michelle Brock & Ralph De Haas, 2023. "Discriminatory Lending: Evidence from Bankers in the Lab," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 31-68, April.
    21. Min, Yohan & Ko, Inhwan, 2023. "Causal effects of place, people, and process on rooftop solar adoption through Bayesian inference," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    22. Porse, Erik & Fournier, Eric & Cheng, Dan & Hirashiki, Claire & Gustafson, Hannah & Federico, Felicia & Pincetl, Stephanie, 2020. "Net solar generation potential from urban rooftops in Los Angeles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    23. Kraschewski, Tobias & Brauner, Tim & Heumann, Maximilian & Breitner, Michael H., 2023. "Disentangle the price dispersion of residential solar photovoltaic systems: Evidence from Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    24. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2025. "Gender norms and solar panel energy adoption in Australia: Evidence from a natural experiment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    25. Sydney P. Forrester & Cristina Crespo Montañés & Eric O’Shaughnessy & Galen Barbose, 2024. "Modeling the potential effects of rooftop solar on household energy burden in the United States," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Falk, Martin Thomas & Hagsten, Eva, 2025. "The impact of rising electricity prices on demand for photovoltaic solar systems," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Lemay, Amélie C. & Wagner, Sigurd & Rand, Barry P., 2023. "Current status and future potential of rooftop solar adoption in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Li, Jiaxin & Wang, Chaofan & Peng, Jiachao & Shuai, Jing & Shuai, Chuanmin, 2025. "Impoverished villagers’ solar PV adoption in rural China: A perspective of agent intervention, economic benefit perception and sense of community," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    4. Tham, Pham Ngoc & Thuy, Truong Dang & Nam, Pham Khanh & Papyrakis, Elissaios, 2025. "Policy uncertainty, public perception, and the preferences for rooftop solar power systems: A choice experiment study in Vietnam," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    5. Malaekeh, SayedMorteza & Castellanos, Sergio, 2025. "Residential solar photovoltaic seeding effects and their unequal impact on diffusion across racial and ethnic groups in the U.S," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    6. Belligoni, Sara & Trader, Elizabeth & Li, Mengjie & Rahman, Mohammad Siddiqur & Ali, Javed & Enriquez, Alejandra Rodriguez & Nagaraj, Meghana & Aksha, Sanam K. & Stevens, Kelly A. & Wahl, Thomas & Emr, 2025. "Transdisciplinary research promoting clean and resilient energy systems for socially vulnerable communities: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    7. Best, Rohan & Chareunsy, Andrea & Taylor, Madeline, 2023. "Changes in inequality for solar panel uptake by Australian homeowners," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    8. Kapsalis, Vasileios & Maduta, Carmen & Skandalos, Nikolaos & Wang, Meng & Bhuvad, Sushant Suresh & D'Agostino, Delia & Ma, Tao & Raj, Uday & Parker, Danny & Peng, Jinqing & Karamanis, Dimitris, 2024. "Critical assessment of large-scale rooftop photovoltaics deployment in the global urban environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    9. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J., 2023. "Small-scale solar panel adoption by the non-residential sector: The effects of national and targeted policies in Australia," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    10. Liu, Tao & Yu, Yanxin & Gong, Di & Guo, Min, 2024. "Geographic disparities in bank lending: Evidence from an auto loan market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Best, Rohan & Marrone, Mauricio & Linnenluecke, Martina, 2023. "Meta-analysis of the role of equity dimensions in household solar panel adoption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    12. Holt, Emily G. & Sunter, Deborah A., 2024. "National disparities in residential energy tax credits in the United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    13. Gao, Xue & Li, Han & Tang, Tian & Tao, Lanbing & Li, Shuang, 2025. "Impact of upfront cost alleviation policies and spatial diffusion on solar adoption in U.S. K-12 schools," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    14. Corbett, Charles J. & Hershfield, Hal E. & Kim, Henry & Malloy, Timothy F. & Nyblade, Benjamin & Partie, Alison, 2022. "The role of place attachment and environmental attitudes in adoption of rooftop solar," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    15. Ball-Burack, Ari & Sun, Ruixiao & Stack, Stephen & Ou, Shiqi (Shawn) & Bose, Ranjan & Yang, Hung-Chia, 2025. "Assessing the behavioral realism of energy system models in light of the consumer adoption literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    16. Sandoval, Héctor & Hancevic, Pedro & Bejarano, Hernán, 2026. "Opportunistic behavior and discrimination in the mexican solar photovoltaic market: An audit experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    17. Sukhgeet Kaur & Michael G. Pollitt, 2024. "Farmers' preferences for incentives on solar pumps: evidence from a choice experiment in Punjab," Working Papers EPRG2408, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    18. Nepal, Rabindra & Best, Rohan & Taylor, Madeline, 2023. "Strategies for reducing ethnic inequality in energy outcomes: A Nepalese example," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    19. Abdoulganiour Almame Tinta & Aimé Okoko & Edmond Lankouande, 2025. "From Light to Income: Solar PV Technology," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 1929-1951, March.
    20. Gao, Xue & Zhou, Shan, 2022. "Solar adoption inequality in the U.S.: Trend, magnitude, and solar justice policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:147:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325003834. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.