Marc Albert Henry, Thesis Supervisor Russell Paul Chuderewicz, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
economics environment sustainability innovation
Abstract:
Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy generation is one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy. However, renewables still lag behind incumbent sources of energy in the United States, making up 16.9% of electricity generation in 2018 compared to 27.5% for coal and 35.2% for natural gas (“U.S. Energy Information Administration,” 2019). First, this paper will establish the basic economic benefits of putting money towards research and development for sustainability innovations. A review of various determinants of sustainability innovation reveals demand-pull to be the most effective and easily manipulated independent factor. Using solar photovoltaic (PV) cells as a case study, an analysis of various models of residential PV adoption shows how perceived financial viability and environmental externalities have slowed adoption at the household level. With the problems identified, a deep dive into time-series residential solar PV application data analyzes the impact of incentives on market potential at the state level. Finally, these takeaways are applied to the current renewable energy market and used to suggest future policy.