IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v60y2013icp679-690.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of state policy on deployment and cost of solar photovoltaic technology in the U.S.: A sector-specific empirical analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Shrimali, Gireesh
  • Jenner, Steffen

Abstract

Using a panel database for 27 programs in 16 U.S. states over 1998–2009, we assess the impact of 12 state-level policies on the cost and deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies for two sectors defined by system sizes: residential (<10 kW) and commercial (10−100 kW). We first examine the impact of policies on the deployment of solar PV. We show that cash incentives increase the deployment of commercial systems. We also show that interconnection standards potentially promote the deployment of residential systems, whereas property tax incentives potentially foster the deployment of commercial systems. We next examine the impact of policies on the cost of solar PV, and show that the key policies have different effects on costs. The cost of residential systems declines faster if there are cash or property tax incentives in place, whereas the presence of interconnection standards potentially accelerates the decline in commercial system costs. Further, states with a renewable portfolio standard see residential system costs potentially declining slower than states without such a policy. As solar PV is at the brink of becoming cost competitive, our findings assist regulators in fine-tuning their set of support tools.

Suggested Citation

  • Shrimali, Gireesh & Jenner, Steffen, 2013. "The impact of state policy on deployment and cost of solar photovoltaic technology in the U.S.: A sector-specific empirical analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 679-690.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:60:y:2013:i:c:p:679-690
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2013.06.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148113003169
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2013.06.023?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas P. Lyon & Haitao Yin, 2010. "Why Do States Adopt Renewable Portfolio Standards?: An Empirical Investigation," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 133-158.
    2. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    3. Menz, Fredric C. & Vachon, Stephan, 2006. "The effectiveness of different policy regimes for promoting wind power: Experiences from the states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(14), pages 1786-1796, September.
    4. Beck, Nathaniel & Katz, Jonathan N., 1995. "What To Do (and Not to Do) with Time-Series Cross-Section Data," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(3), pages 634-647, September.
    5. Carley, Sanya, 2009. "State renewable energy electricity policies: An empirical evaluation of effectiveness," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3071-3081, August.
    6. Sarzynski, Andrea & Larrieu, Jeremy & Shrimali, Gireesh, 2012. "The impact of state financial incentives on market deployment of solar technology," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 550-557.
    7. Shrimali, Gireesh & Kniefel, Joshua, 2011. "Are government policies effective in promoting deployment of renewable electricity resources?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 4726-4741, September.
    8. Croucher, Matt, 2010. "Optimal Deployment of Solar Index," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(9), pages 75-81, November.
    9. Yin, Haitao & Powers, Nicholas, 2010. "Do state renewable portfolio standards promote in-state renewable generation[glottal stop]," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 1140-1149, February.
    10. Nemet, Gregory F., 2006. "Beyond the learning curve: factors influencing cost reductions in photovoltaics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 3218-3232, November.
    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. repec:ags:aaea22:335717 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Gireesh Shrimali & Steffen Jenner & Felix Groba & Gabriel Chan & Joe Indvik, 2012. "Have State Renewable Portfolio Standards Really Worked?: Synthesizing Past Policy Assessments," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1258, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Kahia, Montassar & Ben Aissa, Mohamed Safouane & kadria, Mohamed, 2014. "Do renewable energy policies promote economic growth? A nonparametric approach," MPRA Paper 80751, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Zhao, Xiaoli & Li, Shujie & Zhang, Sufang & Yang, Rui & Liu, Suwei, 2016. "The effectiveness of China's wind power policy: An empirical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 269-279.
    5. Daniel J Pastor, 2020. "The effects of renewables portfolio standards on renewable energy generation," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(3), pages 2121-2133.
    6. Gireesh Shrimali, Gabriel Chan, Steffen Jenner, Felix Groba and Joe Indvik, 2015. "Evaluating Renewable Portfolio Standards for In-State Renewable Deployment: Accounting for Policy Heterogeneity," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    7. Jenner, Steffen & Groba, Felix & Indvik, Joe, 2013. "Assessing the strength and effectiveness of renewable electricity feed-in tariffs in European Union countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 385-401.
    8. Sánchez-Braza, Antonio & Pablo-Romero, María del P., 2014. "Evaluation of property tax bonus to promote solar thermal systems in Andalusia (Spain)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 832-843.
    9. Prasad, Monica & Munch, Steven, 2012. "State-level renewable electricity policies and reductions in carbon emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 237-242.
    10. Gosens, Jorrit & Hedenus, Fredrik & Sandén, Björn A., 2017. "Faster market growth of wind and PV in late adopters due to global experience build-up," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 267-278.
    11. Polzin, Friedemann & Egli, Florian & Steffen, Bjarne & Schmidt, Tobias S., 2019. "How do policies mobilize private finance for renewable energy?—A systematic review with an investor perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1249-1268.
    12. Consolación Quintana-Rojo & Fernando-Evaristo Callejas-Albiñana & Miguel-Ángel Tarancón & Isabel Martínez-Rodríguez, 2020. "Econometric Studies on the Development of Renewable Energy Sources to Support the European Union 2020–2030 Climate and Energy Framework: A Critical Appraisal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-26, June.
    13. Nicolini, Marcella & Tavoni, Massimo, 2017. "Are renewable energy subsidies effective? Evidence from Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 412-423.
    14. kos Hamburger & G bor Harangoz, 2018. "Factors Affecting the Evolution of Renewable Electricity Generating Capacities: A Panel Data Analysis of European Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(5), pages 161-172.
    15. Shrimali, Gireesh & Lynes, Melissa & Indvik, Joe, 2015. "Wind energy deployment in the U.S.: An empirical analysis of the role of federal and state policies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 796-806.
    16. Basher, Syed Abul & Masini, Andrea & Aflaki, Sam, 2015. "Time series properties of the renewable energy diffusion process: Implications for energy policy design and assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1680-1692.
    17. Lee, Sang Ho & Choi, Daewoung Joey & Han, Seung Hun, 2023. "Corporate cash holdings in response to climate risk and policies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    18. Wancong Fu & Chong Li & Jan Ondrich & David Popp, 2018. "Technological Spillover Effects of State Renewable Energy Policy: Evidence from Patent Counts," NBER Working Papers 25390, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Eric Bowen & Donald J. Lacombe, 2017. "Spatial Dependence in State Renewable Policy: Effects of Renewable Portfolio Standards on Renewable Generation within NERC Regions," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    20. Guillaume Bourgeois & Sandrine Mathy & Philippe Menanteau, 2017. "The effect of climate policies on renewable energies : a review of econometric studies [L’effet des politiques climatiques sur les énergies renouvelables : une revue des études économétriques]," Post-Print hal-01585906, HAL.
    21. Adrienne M. Ohler, 2015. "Factors affecting the rise of renewable energy in the U.S.: Concern over environmental quality or rising unemployment?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Solar PV deployment; Solar PV cost; State policy impact; Econometric analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

    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:60:y:2013:i:c:p:679-690. 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.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.