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Adoption of solar and wind energy: The roles of carbon pricing and aggregate policy support

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  • Rohan Best

    (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University)

  • Paul J. Burke

    (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the roles of policies and preferences in national adoption of solar and wind energy technologies. We use cross-sectional and panel regressions for both the European Union and a broader international sample. We find that countries that price carbon emissions have gone on to adopt more solar and wind energy. The aggregate level of policy support, measured in euros per megawatt hour, appears to have been important for solar energy adoption. We also find that solar energy adoption has been larger in countries with higher proportions of people concerned about climate change. In addition, we assess the effects of other key explanators including financial system size and income levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Rohan Best & Paul J. Burke, 2018. "Adoption of solar and wind energy: The roles of carbon pricing and aggregate policy support," CCEP Working Papers 1803, Centre for Climate & Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:ccepwp:1803
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Solar energy; wind energy; carbon pricing; aggregate policy support; renewable energy preference; climate change perception;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • 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

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