[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jenvss/v4y2014i2p163-171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A rooftop revolution? A multidisciplinary analysis of state-level residential solar programs in New Jersey and Massachusetts

Author

Listed:
  • Alden Griffith
  • Monica Higgins
  • James Turner
Abstract
The success of alternative energy policies is usually measured in terms of energy capacity. By this metric, state-level policies to promote solar installations in New Jersey and Massachusetts have been a success. To fully evaluate these policies, however, it is necessary to consider how these policy programs are structured and funded, who participates in these programs, and the complete life cycle consequences of “clean” energy technologies. This paper focuses specifically on residential solar installations, which represent more than half of the total US rooftop solar capacity potential. It takes a multidisciplinary approach that draws on policy analysis, spatial and demographic analyses, and life cycle assessment. The analyses reveal three key conclusions: first, state-level policies have shifted from subsidies for solar installations to incentive-based support based on system performance, which has reduced the payback period for residential solar to less than 10 years and has contributed to the growth of third-party leasing companies. Second, communities with low median income and/or a high percentage of non-white residents generally remain at lower than expected levels of participation. Third, while residential solar installations significantly offset greenhouse gas emissions and compounds that harm human respiratory health after 18 months, switching to photovoltaic panels generates a net increase in the production of ecotoxic chemicals. Drawing on these observations, we recommend policy changes to encourage broader geographic and demographic participation, to recognize the importance of solar leasing companies and landlords, and to promote the use of solar panels with lower environmental impacts across the life cycle. Copyright AESS 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Alden Griffith & Monica Higgins & James Turner, 2014. "A rooftop revolution? A multidisciplinary analysis of state-level residential solar programs in New Jersey and Massachusetts," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 4(2), pages 163-171, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:4:y:2014:i:2:p:163-171
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-013-0156-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13412-013-0156-6
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13412-013-0156-6?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. Gaul, Chip & Carley, Sanya, 2012. "Solar set asides and renewable electricity certificates: Early lessons from North Carolina's experience with its renewable portfolio standard," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 460-469.
    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. Hart, David M., 2010. "Making, breaking, and (partially) remaking markets: State regulation and photovoltaic electricity in New Jersey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6662-6673, November.
    4. Wiser, Ryan & Barbose, Galen & Holt, Edward, 2011. "Supporting solar power in renewables portfolio standards: Experience from the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 3894-3905, July.
    5. 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.
    6. Sanya Carley & Tyler R. Browne, 2013. "Innovative US energy policy: a review of states' policy experiences," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(5), pages 488-506, September.
    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. L'Her, G.F. & Osborne, A.G. & Flanagan, R.R. & Deinert, M.R., 2024. "Localized economic and environmental benefits of residential solar in the United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    2. Lukanov, Boris R. & Krieger, Elena M., 2019. "Distributed solar and environmental justice: Exploring the demographic and socio-economic trends of residential PV adoption in California," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(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. Kim, Jung Eun & Tang, Tian, 2020. "Preventing early lock-in with technology-specific policy designs: The Renewable Portfolio Standards and diversity in renewable energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. 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).
    3. Schelly, Chelsea, 2014. "Implementing renewable energy portfolio standards: The good, the bad, and the ugly in a two state comparison," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 543-551.
    4. 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.
    5. Eric Bowen & Donald J. Lacombe, 2015. "Spatial interaction of Renewable Portfolio Standards and their effect on renewable generation within NERC regions," Working Papers 15-03, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    6. Tolliver, Clarence & Keeley, Alexander Ryota & Managi, Shunsuke, 2020. "Policy targets behind green bonds for renewable energy: Do climate commitments matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    7. Xu, Jie & Lv, Tao & Hou, Xiaoran & Deng, Xu & Liu, Feng, 2021. "Provincial allocation of renewable portfolio standard in China based on efficiency and fairness principles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1233-1245.
    8. Gaul, Chip & Carley, Sanya, 2012. "Solar set asides and renewable electricity certificates: Early lessons from North Carolina's experience with its renewable portfolio standard," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 460-469.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. Lee, Minhyun & Hong, Taehoon & Yoo, Hyunji & Koo, Choongwan & Kim, Jimin & Jeong, Kwangbok & Jeong, Jaewook & Ji, Changyoon, 2017. "Establishment of a base price for the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) from the perspective of residents and state governments in the United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1066-1080.
    12. Rountree, Valerie, 2019. "Nevada's experience with the Renewable Portfolio Standard," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 279-291.
    13. Ameli, Nadia & Pisu, Mauro & Kammen, Daniel M., 2017. "Can the US keep the PACE? A natural experiment in accelerating the growth of solar electricity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 163-169.
    14. Jindal, Abhinav & Shrimali, Gireesh, 2022. "At scale adoption of battery storage technology in Indian power industry: Enablers, frameworks and policies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    15. 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.
    16. Wang, Tan & Gong, Yu & Jiang, Chuanwen, 2014. "A review on promoting share of renewable energy by green-trading mechanisms in power system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 923-929.
    17. Novacheck, Joshua & Johnson, Jeremiah X., 2015. "The environmental and cost implications of solar energy preferences in Renewable Portfolio Standards," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 250-261.
    18. William M. Bowen & Sunjoo Park & Joel A. Elvery, 2013. "Empirical Estimates of the Influence of Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards on the Green Economies of States," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 27(4), pages 338-351, November.
    19. Ebers Broughel, Anna, 2019. "Impact of state policies on generating capacity for production of electricity and combined heat and power from forest biomass in the United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1163-1172.
    20. Kim, Serena Y., 2020. "Institutional arrangements and airport solar PV," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

    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:spr:jenvss:v:4:y:2014:i:2:p:163-171. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.