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Title: Multi-state residential transaction estimates of solar photovoltaic system premiums

Abstract

We report that as of the second quarter of 2016 more than 1.1 million solar photovoltaic (PV) homes exist in the US. Capturing the value these PV systems add to home sales is therefore important. Our study enhances the PV-home-valuation literature by analyzing 22,822 home sales, of which 3951 have PV, and which span eight states during 2002–2013. We also, for the first time, compare premiums with contributory value estimates derived from the present value of saved energy costs (income approach) and, separately, the replacement cost of systems at the time of sale (cost approach) to examine market signals. We find home buyers are consistently willing to pay PV home premiums across various states, housing and PV markets, and home types; average premiums equate to approximately $4/W or $15,000 for an average-sized 3.6-kW PV system. We find that a replacement cost net of state and federal incentives is a better proxy for premiums than gross installed costs, and that the income approach is a good signal if it accounts for tiered volumetric retail rates. Finally, other results include detailed premium analyses for PV home sub-populations.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Adomatis Appraisal Services, Punta Gorda, FL (United States)
  3. Real Property Analytics, Inc., College Station, TX (United States)
  4. Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
  5. San Diego State University, CA (United States)
  6. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1456973
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1496437
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Renewable Energy Focus
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 19-20; Journal Issue: C; Related Information: © 2017; Journal ID: ISSN 1755-0084
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; 14 SOLAR ENERGY; Solar; PV; Home Prices; Hedonic; Premium; Depreciation

Citation Formats

Hoen, Ben, Adomatis, Sandra, Jackson, Thomas, Graff-Zivin, Joshua, Thayer, Mark, Klise, Geoffrey T., and Wiser, Ryan. Multi-state residential transaction estimates of solar photovoltaic system premiums. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1016/j.ref.2017.05.006.
Hoen, Ben, Adomatis, Sandra, Jackson, Thomas, Graff-Zivin, Joshua, Thayer, Mark, Klise, Geoffrey T., & Wiser, Ryan. Multi-state residential transaction estimates of solar photovoltaic system premiums. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2017.05.006
Hoen, Ben, Adomatis, Sandra, Jackson, Thomas, Graff-Zivin, Joshua, Thayer, Mark, Klise, Geoffrey T., and Wiser, Ryan. Mon . "Multi-state residential transaction estimates of solar photovoltaic system premiums". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2017.05.006. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1456973.
@article{osti_1456973,
title = {Multi-state residential transaction estimates of solar photovoltaic system premiums},
author = {Hoen, Ben and Adomatis, Sandra and Jackson, Thomas and Graff-Zivin, Joshua and Thayer, Mark and Klise, Geoffrey T. and Wiser, Ryan},
abstractNote = {We report that as of the second quarter of 2016 more than 1.1 million solar photovoltaic (PV) homes exist in the US. Capturing the value these PV systems add to home sales is therefore important. Our study enhances the PV-home-valuation literature by analyzing 22,822 home sales, of which 3951 have PV, and which span eight states during 2002–2013. We also, for the first time, compare premiums with contributory value estimates derived from the present value of saved energy costs (income approach) and, separately, the replacement cost of systems at the time of sale (cost approach) to examine market signals. We find home buyers are consistently willing to pay PV home premiums across various states, housing and PV markets, and home types; average premiums equate to approximately $4/W or $15,000 for an average-sized 3.6-kW PV system. We find that a replacement cost net of state and federal incentives is a better proxy for premiums than gross installed costs, and that the income approach is a good signal if it accounts for tiered volumetric retail rates. Finally, other results include detailed premium analyses for PV home sub-populations.},
doi = {10.1016/j.ref.2017.05.006},
journal = {Renewable Energy Focus},
number = C,
volume = 19-20,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Mon Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}