Abstract
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.
Keywords
projection bias; salience; technology diffusion; solar technology; energy policy;
JEL codes
- D12: Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
- D91: Intertemporal Household Choice • Life Cycle Models and Saving
- Q42: Alternative Energy Sources
Replaced by
Stefan Lamp, “Sunspots That Matter: The Effect of Weather on Solar Technology Adoption”, Environmental and Resource Economics, vol. 84, April 2023, p. 1179–1219.
Reference
Stefan Lamp, “Sunspots that matter: the effect of weather on solar technology adoption”, TSE Working Paper, n. 18-879, January 2018.
See also
Published in
TSE Working Paper, n. 18-879, January 2018