Research by Kocakusak, Senick and Andrews “Implementing the energy transition: lessons from New Jersey’s residential solar industry”

April 24, 2023

Abstract

A desire to shift from fossil fuels to non-carbon-emitting energy sources has become an imperative supported by national, state, and local policies. In the U.S., a diverse array of policies at multiple levels of government have helped the solar industry achieve exponential growth. These advancements, however, are mediated by local implementation processes, which might be expected to have a large impact in the context of U.S. federalism. This paper investigates the effects of two countervailing forces – policy incentives and implementation disincentives – on residential solar adoption in New Jersey. The New Jersey case study includes two complementary analyses designed to illuminate policy incentives and implementation disincentives, respectively. The first is an interrupted time-series analysis that evaluates the effects of federal and statewide renewable energy policies on residential photovoltaic (PV) growth. The second is a set of semi-structured in-depth interviews with solar industry experts, providing implementation insights from the solar industry and indirectly portraying residential customers’ experiences. Results confirm that market-based instruments at the state-level play a crucial role in increasing the relative financial advantage of these systems and, thus, the attraction of residential solar PV to adopters. In addition, the behaviours of future adopters and the valuation of this technology as an investment in the housing market will impact the spread of residential PV systems in the future. Unfortunately, case study findings also confirm that an absence of standardized solar application procedures and outdated interconnection standards is a significant drag on the adoption rate. This highlights a need for policymakers to place greater emphasis on local implementation pathways in solar policy design. Options to achieve this include more robust ex-ante coordination among state and local levels of government and with industry to standardize implementation processes. While U.S. federalism may at times be constraining, our results suggest that even minimal levels of ex-ante coordination can lead to implementation gains that will have a large impact on solar diffusion outcomes.

Key policy insights

  • Federal and state-level financial incentives significantly impact the residential photovoltaic solar adoption rate.
  • The absence of streamlined interconnection application procedures and outdated interconnection standards for the grid limit the residential PV adoption in New Jersey.
  • Our findings underline the importance of paying equal attention to both policy design and to technical standards to underpin implementation processes, especially in the decentralized context of U.S. federalism.

Keywords

Citation

Diren Kocakusak, Jennifer Senick & Clinton J. Andrews (2023) Implementing the energy transition: lessons from New Jersey’s residential solar industry, Climate Policy, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2023.2202208

Recent Posts

The Virtues of Public Service with Bob Gordon

The Virtues of Public Service with Bob Gordon We return to our regularly scheduled EJB Talks this week with Bob Gordon, a Senior Policy Fellow who joined the Bloustein School earlier this year. Dean Shapiro asks Bob, a former New Jersey legislator and BPU...

Bhuyan Co-Authors New ABCD UrbanSat Study

Linking neuroimaging and mental health data from the ABCD Study to UrbanSat measurements of macro environmental factors Abstract Although numerous studies over the past decade have highlighted the influence of environmental factors on mental health, globally...

Listokin, Hughes, Edwards New Book: Rutgers Then and Now

Rutgers Then and Now Explores Transformation of Historic College Avenue Campus Over the Centuries See images from the book in the original post on Rutgers Today The book hitting shelves soon after the university’s charter day is the work of three longtime...

NJSPL Blog: SNAP Websites’ Chatbot Services

IMPACT-NJ is working to promote language equity in public-sector chatbots, with a focus on English and Spanish to improve accessibility for New Jersey's diverse population. As part of this initiative, the team conducted an audit of state-level SNAP websites, examining...

SRTS Report: Bicycle and Pedestrian Involved Crashes in NJ

Bicycle and Pedestrian Involved Crashes in New Jersey: A Closer Look at Crashes Involving Children and Youth Pedestrians and cyclists face a higher risk of severe injury or death in crashes compared to motorists. In New Jersey, there were nearly 6,000 crashes that...

Upcoming Events

Event Series DEIB

Bloustein DEIB Committee Holiday Toy Drive

Bloustein School, Civic Square Building 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, United States

The Bloustein School Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee invites you to participate in a Holiday Toy Drive benefitting the Harmony Family Success Center. Donate new, unwrapped toys for kids […]

Event Series CAREERS

Virtual Career Drop-ins

Virtual

Stop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]