Document de travail

Sunspots that matter

the effect of weather on solar technology adoption

Stefan Lamp

Résumé

This paper tests for the effect of weather on solar technology adoption, taking advantage of the fact that sunshine is a direct input factor for solar electricity production. I find that a one standard deviation increase in monthly sunshine hours above the long-term average leads to an approximate 6.2 % growth in the residential solar market over a six-month period. I consider a range of potential mechanisms and find strong evidence for projection bias and salience as key drivers of my results. My findings show that there is an asymmetric response to positive and negative sunshine deviations from the long-term mean and that counties with a high vote share for the green party are particularly affected by these biases.

Mots-clés

projection bias; salience; technology diffusion; solar technology; energy policy;

Codes JEL

  • D12: Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • D91: Intertemporal Household Choice • Life Cycle Models and Saving
  • Q42: Alternative Energy Sources

Remplacé par

Stefan Lamp, « Sunspots That Matter: The Effect of Weather on Solar Technology Adoption », Environmental and Resource Economics, vol. 84, avril 2023, p. 1179–1219.

Référence

Stefan Lamp, « Sunspots that matter: the effect of weather on solar technology adoption », TSE Working Paper, n° 18-879, janvier 2018.

Voir aussi

Publié dans

TSE Working Paper, n° 18-879, janvier 2018