What drives home solar PV uptake? Subsidies, peer effects and visibility in Sweden

Solar PV capacity in Sweden has grown considerably in the last years, however and despite techno-economic potential, its share in the power mix remains rather marginal. There are growing claims about economic and non-monetary factors driving the (non-)adoption of solar PV, but quantitative evidence about potential adopters is rather limited. Our study addresses this gap and investigates subsidy effects and non-economic variables affecting the likelihood to adopt solar PV. It deploys a survey experiment using a web panel of Swedish house owners (N = 208). A set of logistic regression models and corresponding statistical tests are used to examine several hypotheses. Results show that subsidies and peer effects are significant factors driving the likelihood to adopt. Contrary to indications in the literature, the visibility of technology (and related pro-social behaviour) is not significant and interaction effects among analysed factors are irrelevant. Results are statistically robust when controlling for other variables (e.g. age, income) and highlight that environmental awareness plays a positive role. Peer effects mostly come from hearing, but if the source is known both seeing and hearing affect the likelihood to adopt. Our results underline the importance of economic incentives and peer effects in decision-making process. Both policy certainty at the national level and social interactions at the local level need far more attention in policy design.