IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2212.05281.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Exploring non-residential technology adoption: an empirical analysis of factors associated with the adoption of photovoltaic systems by municipal authorities in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Maren Springsklee
  • Fabian Scheller

Abstract

This research article explores potential influencing factors of solar photovoltaic (PV) system adoption by municipal authorities in Germany in the year 2019. We derive seven hypothesized relationships from the empirical literature on residential PV adoption, organizational technology adoption, and sustainability policy adoption by local governments, and apply a twofold empirical approach to examine them. First, we explore the associations of a set of explanatory variables on the installed capacity of adopter municipalities (N=223) in an OLS model. Second, we use a logit model to analyze whether the identified relationships are also apparent between adopter and non-adopter municipalities (N=423). Our findings suggest that fiscal capacity (measured by per capita debt and per capita tax revenue) and peer effects (measured by the pre-existing installed capacity) are positively associated with both the installed capacity and adoption. Furthermore, we find that institutional capacity (measured by the presence of a municipal utility) and environmental concern (measured by the share of green party votes) are positively associated with municipal PV adoption. Economic factors (measured by solar irradiation) show a significant positive but small effect in both regression models. No evidence was found to support the influence of political will. Results for the role of municipal characteristics are mixed, although the population size was consistently positively associated with municipal PV adoption and installed capacity. Our results support previous studies on PV system adoption determinants and offer a starting point for additional research on non-residential decision-making and PV adoption.

Suggested Citation

  • Maren Springsklee & Fabian Scheller, 2022. "Exploring non-residential technology adoption: an empirical analysis of factors associated with the adoption of photovoltaic systems by municipal authorities in Germany," Papers 2212.05281, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2212.05281
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2212.05281
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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).
    2. 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.
    3. Zhao, Yong & Tang, Kam Ki & Wang, Li-li, 2013. "Do renewable electricity policies promote renewable electricity generation? Evidence from panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 887-897.
    4. Reindl, K. & Palm, J., 2021. "Installing PV: Barriers and enablers experienced by non-residential property owners," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Kwan, Calvin Lee, 2012. "Influence of local environmental, social, economic and political variables on the spatial distribution of residential solar PV arrays across the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 332-344.
    6. Testa, Francesco & Iraldo, Fabio & Frey, Marco & Daddi, Tiberio, 2012. "What factors influence the uptake of GPP (green public procurement) practices? New evidence from an Italian survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 88-96.
    7. King, Gary & Zeng, Langche, 2001. "Explaining Rare Events in International Relations," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(3), pages 693-715, July.
    8. Dong, Changgui & Wiser, Ryan, 2013. "The impact of city-level permitting processes on residential photovoltaic installation prices and development times: An empirical analysis of solar systems in California cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 531-542.
    9. Li, Hui & Yi, Hongtao, 2014. "Multilevel governance and deployment of solar PV panels in U.S. cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 19-27.
    10. 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).
    11. Bryan Bollinger & Kenneth Gillingham, 2012. "Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 900-912, November.
    12. 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.
    13. Annunziata, Eleonora & Rizzi, Francesco & Frey, Marco, 2014. "Enhancing energy efficiency in public buildings: The role of local energy audit programmes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 364-373.
    14. Zhenghong Tang & Samuel Brody & Courtney Quinn & Liang Chang & Ting Wei, 2010. "Moving from agenda to action: evaluating local climate change action plans," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 41-62.
    15. 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).
    16. González-Limón, José Manuel & Pablo-Romero, María del P. & Sánchez-Braza, Antonio, 2013. "Understanding local adoption of tax credits to promote solar-thermal energy: Spanish municipalities' case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 277-284.
    17. Daniel C. Matisoff, 2008. "The Adoption of State Climate Change Policies and Renewable Portfolio Standards: Regional Diffusion or Internal Determinants?," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 25(6), pages 527-546, December.
    18. Noll, Daniel & Dawes, Colleen & Rai, Varun, 2014. "Solar Community Organizations and active peer effects in the adoption of residential PV," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 330-343.
    19. Tomz, Michael & King, Gary & Zeng, Langche, 2003. "ReLogit: Rare Events Logistic Regression," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 8(i02).
    20. Polzin, Friedemann & Nolden, Colin & von Flotow, Paschen, 2018. "Drivers and barriers for municipal retrofitting activities – Evidence from a large-scale survey of German local authorities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 99-108.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. Sven Müller & Johannes Rode, 2013. "The adoption of photovoltaic systems in Wiesbaden, Germany," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(5), pages 519-535, July.
    24. Williams, Eric & Carvalho, Rexon & Hittinger, Eric & Ronnenberg, Matthew, 2020. "Empirical development of parsimonious model for international diffusion of residential solar," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 570-577.
    25. Horbach, Jens & Rammer, Christian, 2018. "Energy transition in Germany and regional spill-overs: The diffusion of renewable energy in firms," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 404-414.
    26. Alipour, M. & Salim, H. & Stewart, Rodney A. & Sahin, Oz, 2021. "Residential solar photovoltaic adoption behaviour: End-to-end review of theories, methods and approaches," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 471-486.
    27. Sütterlin, Bernadette & Siegrist, Michael, 2017. "Public acceptance of renewable energy technologies from an abstract versus concrete perspective and the positive imagery of solar power," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 356-366.
    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. 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).
    2. Pronti, A. & Zoboli, R., 2024. "Something new under the sun. A spatial econometric analysis of the adoption of photovoltaic systems in Italy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    3. Stewart, Fraser, 2022. "Friends with benefits: How income and peer diffusion combine to create an inequality “trap” in the uptake of low-carbon technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Takanobu Kosugi & Yoshiyuki Shimoda & Takayuki Tashiro, 2019. "Neighborhood influences on the diffusion of residential photovoltaic systems in Kyoto City, Japan," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 21(4), pages 477-505, October.
    6. Neij, Lena & Heiskanen, Eva & Strupeit, Lars, 2017. "The deployment of new energy technologies and the need for local learning," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 274-283.
    7. 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).
    8. 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.
    9. Moon-Hyun Kim & Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim, 2021. "Spatial Characteristics of the Diffusion of Residential Solar Photovoltaics in Urban Areas: A Case of Seoul, South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-16, January.
    10. Collier, Samuel H.C. & House, Jo I. & Connor, Peter M. & Harris, Richard, 2023. "Distributed local energy: Assessing the determinants of domestic-scale solar photovoltaic uptake at the local level across England and Wales," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    11. 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).
    12. 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.
    13. Frey, Elaine F. & Mojtahedi, Saba, 2018. "The impact of solar subsidies on California's non-residential sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 27-35.
    14. 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).
    15. 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).
    16. 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.
    17. Hsu, Jenneille Hwai-Yuan, 2018. "Predictors for adoption of local solar approval processes and impact on residential solar installations in California cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 463-472.
    18. 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.
    19. Du, Hua & Han, Qi & de Vries, Bauke & Sun, Jun, 2024. "Community solar PV adoption in residential apartment buildings: A case study on influencing factors and incentive measures in Wuhan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 354(PA).
    20. Lemay, Amélie C. & Wagner, Sigurd & Rand, Barry P., 2023. "Current status and future potential of rooftop solar adoption in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).

    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:arx:papers:2212.05281. 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: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    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.