IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/een/ccepwp/1902.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Understanding the determinants of rooftop solar installation: evidence from household surveys in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Rohan Best

    (Department of Economics, Macquarie University)

  • Paul J Burke

    (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University)

  • Shuhei Nishitateno

    (School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University)

Abstract

Australia is a world leader in household uptake of solar photovoltaic systems. In this paper we use household-level data to identify economic, social, and environmental factors that influence actual uptake and the intention to install. We find that higher net wealth is generally associated with higher likelihood to install. Households that have mortgages, that spend more on electricity, and that pay higher average electricity prices are more likely to intend to install. Environmental preferences and related behaviours, property tenure, and space constraints are associated with both actual uptake and intention to install. We use data from the Survey of Income and Housing of 2015–16 and the Household Energy Consumption Survey of 2012.

Suggested Citation

  • Rohan Best & Paul J Burke & Shuhei Nishitateno, 2019. "Understanding the determinants of rooftop solar installation: evidence from household surveys in Australia," CCEP Working Papers 1902, Centre for Climate & Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:ccepwp:1902
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ccep.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/ccep_crawford_anu_edu_au/2019-04/1902_0.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Prudence Dato, 2018. "Investment in Energy Efficiency, Adoption of Renewable Energy and Household Behavior: Evidence from OECD Countries," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    2. Briguglio, Marie & Formosa, Glenn, 2017. "When households go solar: Determinants of uptake of a Photovoltaic Scheme and policy insights," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 154-162.
    3. Islam, Towhidul, 2014. "Household level innovation diffusion model of photo-voltaic (PV) solar cells from stated preference data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 340-350.
    4. Jonathan E. Hughes & Molly Podolefsky, 2015. "Getting Green with Solar Subsidies: Evidence from the California Solar Initiative," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 235-275.
    5. Axsen, Jonn & TyreeHageman, Jennifer & Lentz, Andy, 2012. "Lifestyle practices and pro-environmental technology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 64-74.
    6. Marcello Graziano & Kenneth Gillingham, 2015. "Spatial patterns of solar photovoltaic system adoption: The influence of neighbors and the built environment," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 815-839.
    7. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J., 2018. "Adoption of solar and wind energy: The roles of carbon pricing and aggregate policy support," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 404-417.
    8. Woersdorfer, Julia Sophie & Kaus, Wolfhard, 2011. "Will nonowners follow pioneer consumers in the adoption of solar thermal systems? Empirical evidence for northwestern Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2282-2291.
    9. De Groote, Olivier & Pepermans, Guido & Verboven, Frank, 2016. "Heterogeneity in the adoption of photovoltaic systems in Flanders," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 45-57.
    10. Sommerfeld, Jeff & Buys, Laurie & Vine, Desley, 2017. "Residential consumers’ experiences in the adoption and use of solar PV," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 10-16.
    11. Hardman, Scott & Shiu, Eric & Steinberger-Wilckens, Robert, 2016. "Comparing high-end and low-end early adopters of battery electric vehicles," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 40-57.
    12. Alafita, T. & Pearce, J.M., 2014. "Securitization of residential solar photovoltaic assets: Costs, risks and uncertainty," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 488-498.
    13. Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Yildirim, Julide & Connor, Peter M., 2015. "Regional distribution of photovoltaic deployment in the UK and its determinants: A spatial econometric approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 417-429.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J., 2022. "Effects of renting on household energy expenditure: Evidence from Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. 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).
    3. Mara Hammerle & Paul J. Burke, 2022. "Solar PV and energy poverty in Australia's residential sector," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 822-841, October.
    4. Emily Schulte & Fabian Scheller & Daniel Sloot & Thomas Bruckner, 2021. "A meta-analysis of residential PV adoption: the important role of perceived benefits, intentions and antecedents in solar energy acceptance," Papers 2112.12464, arXiv.org.
    5. Fikru, Mahelet G. & Gautier, Luis, 2023. "Consumption and production of cleaner energy by prosumers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    6. Hammerle, Mara & Burke, Paul J., 2022. "From natural gas to electric appliances: Energy use and emissions implications in Australian homes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Tomasi, Silvia, 2022. "The (Non) impact of the Spanish “Tax on the Sun” on photovoltaics prosumers uptake," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    8. Rohan Best & Paul J. Burke & Rabindra Nepal & Zac Reynolds, 2021. "Effects of rooftop solar on housing prices in Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(3), pages 493-511, July.
    9. Best, Rohan & Li, Han & Trück, Stefan & Truong, Chi, 2021. "Actual uptake of home batteries: The key roles of capital and policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    10. Lekavičius, V. & Bobinaitė, V. & Galinis, A. & Pažėraitė, A., 2020. "Distributional impacts of investment subsidies for residential energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    11. Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Yildirim, Julide & Connor, Peter M. & Truckell, Ian & Hart, Phil, 2021. "Energy transition at local level: Analyzing the role of peer effects and socio-economic factors on UK solar photovoltaic deployment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    12. Best, Rohan & Trück, Stefan, 2020. "Capital and policy impacts on Australian small-scale solar installations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    13. Hansen, Anders Rhiger & Jacobsen, Mette Hove & Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten, 2022. "Characterizing the Danish energy prosumer: Who buys solar PV systems and why do they buy them?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    14. Best, Rohan, 2023. "Equitable reverse auctions supporting household energy investments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    15. Best, Rohan, 2022. "Energy inequity variation across contexts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    16. Best, Rohan & Hammerle, Mara & Mukhopadhaya, Pundarik & Silber, Jacques, 2021. "Targeting household energy assistance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Fabian Scheller & Karyn Morrissey & Karsten Neuhoff & Dogan Keles, 2023. "Green or greedy: the relationship between perceived benefits and homeowners' intention to adopt residential low-carbon technologies," Papers 2308.10104, arXiv.org.
    18. 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).
    19. Zhang, Yanquan & Chang, Ruidong & Zuo, Jian & Shabunko, Veronika & Zheng, Xian, 2023. "Regional disparity of residential solar panel diffusion in Australia: The roles of socio-economic factors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 808-819.
    20. Zander, Kerstin K., 2020. "Unrealised opportunities for residential solar panels in Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    21. Emily Schulte & Fabian Scheller & Wilmer Pasut & Thomas Bruckner, 2021. "Product traits, decision-makers, and household low-carbon technology adoptions: moving beyond single empirical studies," Papers 2112.11867, arXiv.org.
    22. Best, Rohan & Chareunsy, Andrea & Li, Han, 2021. "Equity and effectiveness of Australian small-scale solar schemes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).

    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. Best, Rohan & Trück, Stefan, 2020. "Capital and policy impacts on Australian small-scale solar installations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    2. Palm, A., 2020. "Early adopters and their motives: Differences between earlier and later adopters of residential solar photovoltaics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Zander, Kerstin K., 2020. "Unrealised opportunities for residential solar panels in Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    4. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J. & Nishitateno, Shuhei, 2019. "Evaluating the effectiveness of Australia's Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme for rooftop solar," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Germeshausen, Robert, 2016. "Effects of Attribute-Based Regulation on Technology Adoption - The Case of Feed-In Tariffs for Solar Photovoltaic," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145712, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Petrovich, Beatrice & Hille, Stefanie Lena & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2019. "Beauty and the budget: A segmentation of residential solar adopters," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Emily Schulte & Fabian Scheller & Daniel Sloot & Thomas Bruckner, 2021. "A meta-analysis of residential PV adoption: the important role of perceived benefits, intentions and antecedents in solar energy acceptance," Papers 2112.12464, arXiv.org.
    8. Yamashiro, Ririka & Mori, Akihisa, 2023. "Combined third-party ownership and aggregation business model for the adoption of rooftop solar PV–battery systems: Implications from the case of Miyakojima Island, Japan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Alipour, M. & Salim, H. & Stewart, Rodney A. & Sahin, Oz, 2020. "Predictors, taxonomy of predictors, and correlations of predictors with the decision behaviour of residential solar photovoltaics adoption: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    10. Palm, Alvar & Lantz, Björn, 2020. "Information dissemination and residential solar PV adoption rates: The effect of an information campaign in Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    11. Lan, Haifeng & Gou, Zhonghua & Lu, Yi, 2021. "Machine learning approach to understand regional disparity of residential solar adoption in Australia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    12. Paul Simshauser & Tim Nelson & Joel Gilmore, 2022. "The sunshine state: implications from mass rooftop solar PV take-up rates in Queensland," Working Papers EPRG2219, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    13. Fabian Scheller & Isabel Doser & Emily Schulte & Simon Johanning & Russell McKenna & Thomas Bruckner, 2021. "Stakeholder dynamics in residential solar energy adoption: findings from focus group discussions in Germany," Papers 2104.14240, arXiv.org.
    14. Reeves, D.C. & Rai, V., 2018. "Strike while the rebate is hot: Savvy consumers and strategic technology adoption timing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 325-335.
    15. Bruno Moreno Rodrigo de Freitas, 2020. "Quantifying the effect of regulated volumetric electriciy tariffs on residential PV adoption under net metering scheme," Working papers of CATT hal-02976874, HAL.
    16. Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Yildirim, Julide & Connor, Peter M. & Truckell, Ian & Hart, Phil, 2021. "Energy transition at local level: Analyzing the role of peer effects and socio-economic factors on UK solar photovoltaic deployment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    17. Best, Rohan & Li, Han & Trück, Stefan & Truong, Chi, 2021. "Actual uptake of home batteries: The key roles of capital and policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    18. Fabian Scheller & Isabel Doser & Daniel Sloot & Russell McKenna & Thomas Bruckner, 2020. "Exploring the Role of Stakeholder Dynamics in Residential Photovoltaic Adoption Decisions: A Synthesis of the Literature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-31, November.
    19. Zhang, Jianhua & Ballas, Dimitris & Liu, Xiaolong, 2023. "Neighbourhood-level spatial determinants of residential solar photovoltaic adoption in the Netherlands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1239-1248.
    20. Bruno Moreno Rodrigo de Freitas, 2020. "Quantifying the effect of regulated volumetric electriciy tariffs on residential PV adoption under net metering scheme," Working Papers hal-02976874, HAL.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:een:ccepwp:1902. 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: CCEP (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/asanuau.html .

    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.