Heterogeneity in the Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems in Flanders

36 Pages Posted: 20 Oct 2015

See all articles by Olivier De Groote

Olivier De Groote

Toulouse School of Economics

Guido Pepermans

Faculty of Economics and Business, Campus Brussels

Frank Verboven

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB)

Date Written: October 2015

Abstract

We study the determinants of PV adoption in the region of Flanders (Belgium), where PV adoption reached high levels during 2006-2012, because of active government intervention. Based on a unique dataset at a very detailed spatial level, we estimate a Poisson model to explain the heterogeneity in adoption rates. We obtain the following findings. First, local policies have a robust and significant impact on PV adoption, providing indirect evidence that the larger regional incentives formed the basis for the strong development of PV adoption in the region. Second, there is a strong unconditional income effect, implying a Matthew effect in the subsidization of PVs. Our third finding is however that this income effect is largely driven by the fact that wealthier households are more likely to adopt because they tend to be larger (and hence higher users), are more frequent house owners (who capture more of the benefits), or own houses that are better suited for PV. We can thus identify the channels through which wealthier households are more likely to benefit from the PV support. Finally, we identify the importance of several housing characteristics: PV adoption tends to be more likely in larger and in more recently built houses. In several extensions, we consider the determinants of the average size of installed PVs, and the differential impact of certain variables over time.

Suggested Citation

De Groote, Olivier and Pepermans, Guido and Verboven, Frank, Heterogeneity in the Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems in Flanders (October 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2676526 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2676526

Olivier De Groote (Contact Author)

Toulouse School of Economics ( email )

Place Anatole-France
Toulouse Cedex, F-31042
France

Guido Pepermans

Faculty of Economics and Business, Campus Brussels ( email )

Warmoesberg 26
Brussels, B-1000
Belgium
+32 16 37 62 33 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.feb.kuleuven.be\guido.pepermans

Frank Verboven

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB) ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
83
Abstract Views
689
Rank
539,499
PlumX Metrics