What rooftop solar tells us about who's participating (and who's not) in the clean energy transition

by James Arnott, Aspen Global Change Institute

March 2020 Quarterly Research Review

Moving society to near zero carbon emissions will entail a substantial amount of distributed clean energy generation, such as through rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Adoption patterns of this carbon-free technology illustrates important social dynamics that influence the speed and scale of energy transitions. Knowing who is—or is not—participating in the adoption of cleaner energy sources can help guide more effective policy and communication strategies. For example, commonalities in participation across different groups of people may help to justify and expand strategies that are shown to work well in many contexts. On the other hand, disparities in participation reveal underlying problems where targeted interventions may be required to ensure a just, equitable energy transition is achieved.