Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms

Curtius, Hans Christoph; Hille, Stefanie Lena; Berger, Christian; Hahnel, Ulf Joachim Jonas; Wüstenhagen, Rolf

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms
Authors:	Curtius, Hans Christoph Hille, Stefanie Lena Berger, Christian Hahnel, Ulf Joachim Jonas Wüstenhagen, Rolf
DOI:	10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005
Published in:	Energy Policy
Volume(Issue):	118
Page(s):	596
Pages to:	602
Issue Date:	2018
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0301-4215 1873-6777
Language:	English
Subjects:	Diffusion of innovation; Peer effect; Social contagion; Solar photovoltaic; Renewable energy; Social norm
Subject (DDC):	333.79: Energy 621.3: Electrical, communications, control engineering
Abstract:	In the last decade, feed-in tariffs have been the method of choice for policymakers trying to accelerate the diffusion of solar photovoltaics (PV). Despite the overall effectiveness of feed-in tariffs, actual adoption rates have shown surprising regional differences, pointing to the presence of peer influence and regional spillover effects. For future diffusion of photovoltaics, understanding these social influences on the decision to adopt is key. Several studies have used revealed preference approaches to discern peer effects in PV adoption, proving their existence but leaving open questions about underlying psychological mechanisms. We close this gap by conducting a survey among potential PV adopters in one of the top three fastest-growing European solar markets and find that two types of social norms, descriptive and injunctive norms and their underlying interplay, play an important role in explaining PV adoption decision and diffusion patterns. Our findings have significant policy implications – as an alternative to following the shotgun approach of uniform nationwide incentives, policymakers should consider inducing snowball effects by facilitating the creation of regional hot spots. Such programs, which may be supported through co-investments between federal and local authorities, would effectively complement existing policy approaches.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/7068
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	School of Management and Law
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Management and Law

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Curtius, H. C., Hille, S. L., Berger, C., Hahnel, U. J. J., & Wüstenhagen, R. (2018). Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms. Energy Policy, 118, 596–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005

Curtius, H.C. et al. (2018) ‘Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms’, Energy Policy, 118, pp. 596–602. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005.

H. C. Curtius, S. L. Hille, C. Berger, U. J. J. Hahnel, and R. Wüstenhagen, “Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms,” Energy Policy, vol. 118, pp. 596–602, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005.

CURTIUS, Hans Christoph, Stefanie Lena HILLE, Christian BERGER, Ulf Joachim Jonas HAHNEL und Rolf WÜSTENHAGEN, 2018. Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms. Energy Policy. 2018. Bd. 118, S. 596–602. DOI 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005

Curtius, Hans Christoph, Stefanie Lena Hille, Christian Berger, Ulf Joachim Jonas Hahnel, and Rolf Wüstenhagen. 2018. “Shotgun or Snowball Approach? Accelerating the Diffusion of Rooftop Solar Photovoltaics through Peer Effects and Social Norms.” Energy Policy 118: 596–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005.

Curtius, Hans Christoph, et al. “Shotgun or Snowball Approach? Accelerating the Diffusion of Rooftop Solar Photovoltaics through Peer Effects and Social Norms.” Energy Policy, vol. 118, 2018, pp. 596–602, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.005.