IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v188y2023ics1364032123006603.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rooftop solar with net metering: An integrated investment appraisal

Author

Listed:
  • Hashemi, Majid
  • Jenkins, Glenn
  • Milne, Frank

Abstract

This paper develops a framework for a financial, economic, and stakeholder analysis of a residential rooftop solar net-metering program. The empirical focus of the paper is the net-metering program in Ontario, Canada, but the methodology is applicable to evaluating other public programs. The results highlight that without the Federal Government's subsidy for the initial investment cost, net-metered solar systems are not financially viable for representative households. Moreover, the stakeholder analysis reveals that for each additional net-metered system installed in Ontario, non-net-metered households experience financial losses of six times the benefits to the net-metered households. The net losses to the Federal Government of Canada and the Canadian economy are five and nine times the benefit to the net-metered households, respectively. The only stakeholder who benefits marginally is the Government of Ontario. In terms of environmental benefits, our estimate of the cost of greenhouse gas abatement by residential net-metered solar is 325 CAD per ton of CO2, which is significantly higher than the current (65 CAD in 2023) and future (170 CAD by 2030) national carbon price set by the Government of Canada.

Suggested Citation

  • Hashemi, Majid & Jenkins, Glenn & Milne, Frank, 2023. "Rooftop solar with net metering: An integrated investment appraisal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:188:y:2023:i:c:s1364032123006603
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2023.113803
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032123006603
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2023.113803?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 search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Axel Gautier & Julien Jacqmin & Jean-Christophe Poudou, 2018. "The prosumers and the grid," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 100-126, February.
    2. Chun-Yan Kuo & Glenn Jenkins, 2007. "The Economic Opportunity Cost Of Capital For Canada - An Empirical Update," Working Paper 1133, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    3. Bahramian, Pejman & Jenkins, Glenn P. & Milne, Frank, 2021. "A stakeholder analysis of investments in wind power electricity generation in Ontario," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Steffen, Bjarne, 2020. "Estimating the cost of capital for renewable energy projects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Gautier, Axel & Jacqmin, Julien & Poudou, Jean-Christophe, 2021. "Optimal grid tariffs with heterogeneous prosumers," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Axel Gautier & Julien Jacqmin, 2020. "PV adoption: the role of distribution tariffs under net metering," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 53-73, February.
    7. David P. Brown & David E.M. Sappington, 2017. "Designing Compensation for Distributed Solar Generation: Is Net Metering Ever Optimal?," The Energy Journal, , vol. 38(3), pages 1-32, May.
    8. Jean-Christophe Poudou & Axel Gautier & Julien Jacqmin, 2018. "The prosumers and the grid," Post-Print hal-01810028, HAL.
    9. Severin Borenstein, 2022. "Author Correction: It’s time for rooftop solar to compete with other renewables," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(6), pages 561-561, June.
    10. Severin Borenstein, 2022. "It’s time for rooftop solar to compete with other renewables," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 298-298, April.
    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. De Groote, Olivier & Gautier, Axel & Verboven, Frank, 2024. "The political economy of financing climate policy — Evidence from the solar PV subsidy programs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Axel Gautier & Julien Jacqmin & Jean-Christophe Poudou, 2023. "The Energy Community and the Grid," Working Papers hal-04032253, HAL.
    4. 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.
    5. Manuel de Villena, Miguel & Jacqmin, Julien & Fonteneau, Raphael & Gautier, Axel & Ernst, Damien, 2021. "Network tariffs and the integration of prosumers: The case of Wallonia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Ahmed S. Alahmed & Lang Tong, 2022. "Integrating Distributed Energy Resources: Optimal Prosumer Decisions and Impacts of Net Metering Tariffs," Papers 2204.06115, arXiv.org, revised May 2022.
    7. Giulietti, Monica & Le Coq, Chloé & Willems, Bert & Anaya, Karim, 2019. "Smart Consumers in the Internet of Energy : Flexibility Markets & Services from Distributed Energy Resources," Other publications TiSEM 2edb43b5-bbd6-487d-abdf-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Sai Bravo & Carole Haritchabalet, 2023. "Prosumers: Grid Storage vs Small Fuel-Cell," Working papers of Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales (TREE) hal-04119625, HAL.
    9. Sai Bravo & Carole Haritchabalet, 2023. "Prosumers: Grid Storage vs Small Fuel-Cell," Working Papers hal-04119625, HAL.
    10. Gautier, Axel & Jacqmin, Julien & Poudou, Jean-Christophe, 2021. "Optimal grid tariffs with heterogeneous prosumers," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Axel Gautier & Julien Jacqmin, 2020. "PV adoption: the role of distribution tariffs under net metering," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 53-73, February.
    12. Hoarau, Quentin & Perez, Yannick, 2019. "Network tariff design with prosumers and electromobility: Who wins, who loses?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 26-39.
    13. Boampong, Richard & Brown, David P., 2020. "On the benefits of behind-the-meter rooftop solar and energy storage: The importance of retail rate design," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    14. Boccard, Nicolas & Gautier, Axel, 2021. "Solar rebound: The unintended consequences of subsidies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    15. Miguel Manuel de Villena & Raphael Fonteneau & Axel Gautier & Damien Ernst, 2019. "Evaluating the Evolution of Distribution Networks under Different Regulatory Frameworks with Multi-Agent Modelling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, March.
    16. Ansarin, Mohammad & Ghiassi-Farrokhfal, Yashar & Ketter, Wolfgang & Collins, John, 2022. "A review of equity in electricity tariffs in the renewable energy era," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    17. Arnold, Fabian & Jeddi, Samir & Sitzmann, Amelie, 2022. "How prices guide investment decisions under net purchasing — An empirical analysis on the impact of network tariffs on residential PV," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    18. Nur Sunar & Jayashankar M. Swaminathan, 2021. "Net-Metered Distributed Renewable Energy: A Peril for Utilities?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 6716-6733, November.
    19. Wagner, Johannes, 2018. "Distributed Generation in Unbundled Electricity Markets," EWI Working Papers 2018-1, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI).
    20. Michas, Serafeim & Stavrakas, Vassilis & Papadelis, Sotiris & Flamos, Alexandros, 2020. "A transdisciplinary modeling framework for the participatory design of dynamic adaptive policy pathways," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rooftop solar; Net metering; Greenhouse gas emissions; Renewable energy; Distributed energy resources; Canada;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • 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:rensus:v:188:y:2023:i:c:s1364032123006603. 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/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.