IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v260y2026ics0960148126000066.html

The sustainable future is now: A dynamic model to advance investments in PV and energy storage

Author

Listed:
  • Becchetti, Leonardo
  • Solferino, Nazaria
  • Tessitore, M. Elisabetta

Abstract

We develop a dynamic optimization model to study the link between photovoltaic (PV) investments, energy production, and environmental impact. The model is formulated as a continuous-time optimal control problem with one control variable (investment) and two state variables (energy output and emissions). Applying Pontryagin’s maximum principle, we derive a closed-form solution for the optimal investment path. Key inputs include PV productivity, costs, depreciation, and emission savings versus fossil fuels. The results show that the optimal investment increases with the efficiency of PV, the ecological benefits and the weight given to sustainability, identifying conditions in which PV increases both energy output and emission reduction. We also find that better storage technologies improve the long-term viability of renewables and may be more politically feasible than carbon taxation. Simulations test the sensitivity of the net zero year to cost changes, regional differences, and shocks from environmental policies in China and the US, offering policy-relevant insights to align renewable energy investments with environmental and economic goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Becchetti, Leonardo & Solferino, Nazaria & Tessitore, M. Elisabetta, 2026. "The sustainable future is now: A dynamic model to advance investments in PV and energy storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:260:y:2026:i:c:s0960148126000066
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2026.125181
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148126000066
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2026.125181?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 look for a different version below or

    for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis

    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:renene:v:260:y:2026:i:c:s0960148126000066. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    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.