Power from the people: Rooftop solar and a downward-sloping supply of electricity
Using high-frequency data, I show that the supply of electricity by solar households can be downward sloping. I document that households receiving higher prices to sell electricity increase their own consumption as their panels produce more, relative to households receiving lower prices. I test seve...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Chicago Press
2019
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| Online Access: | View Fulltext in Publisher |
| Summary: | Using high-frequency data, I show that the supply of electricity by solar households can be downward sloping. I document that households receiving higher prices to sell electricity increase their own consumption as their panels produce more, relative to households receiving lower prices. I test several competing explanations and show that a dollar of electricity income increases electricity expenditures by 23 cents, an effect much larger than a standard income response. The fact that solar households treat income from electricity production as “electricity money” means that production subsidies may decrease the supply of electricity by solar homes. © 2019 by The Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. |
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| ISBN: | 23335955 (ISSN) |
| DOI: | 10.1086/705535 |