Go Big or Go Home: Effect of Utility-Scale Renewables and Community Choice Aggregation on Pv Adoption

Abstract

Residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are often a good investment, both from financial and environmental perspectives. In addition, centralized renewable energy generation has grown in the United States, becoming increasingly accessible to residential consumers via business models such as green pricing and Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). CCAs are community-owned entities that facilitate the transformation of the local electricity retail landscape by aggregating purchasing power to reduce the cost of electricity and increase renewable content. CCA customers may perceive residential PV investments differently, given the improved environmental context. This study evaluates the impact of messages about high renewable content from different types of providers on consumers' PV adoption intentions and perceptions. In a 4 (renewable content) x 2 (provider) design, consumers were randomly assigned a message with either no, 30%, 60%, or 100% renewable content that was provided within or outside a CCA framework. Multiple linear regression models suggest an inverse relationship between high renewable content and interest in PV adoption. However, perceptions about PV remained unaltered by CCA-driven promotional content. This research highlights the importance of context for the evaluation of PV by residential consumers and how perceptions may change in the future. Overall, this research may be an early indication of the potential for decreased interest in residential solar PV adoption in the long-term. For example, consumers may need higher incentives to adopt residential PV as the grid gets greener, regardless of the type of provider.

Keywords: Renewable Content, Marketing Messages, PV Adoption, Community Choice Aggregation, Context Framing