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Incentive pass-through in the California Solar Initiative – An analysis based on third-party contracts

Journal Article · · Energy Policy
Many utilities and states have implemented incentives for residential solar to reduce the high upfront cost. There is a growing body of literature evaluating the extent of this corresponding price reduction, termed 'incentive pass-through', typically finding nearly complete path-through for host-owned systems. However, few studies hitherto had the data to reliably estimate path-through for third-party owned systems, which comprise most of new installations over this period. This study evaluates incentive pass-through for third-party owned systems in California between 2010 and 2014. The estimation results show path-through rate is around 62%, suggesting that unlike host-owned systems, a portion of the incentive reduced the contract price of the system and the rest of the incentive was retained by the installer. This study has important implications for future subsidy program design in the presence of different ownership types in the market.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1465657
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-6A20-64791
Journal Information:
Energy Policy, Journal Name: Energy Policy Journal Issue: C Vol. 121; ISSN 0301-4215
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English