{"671164":{"#nid":"671164","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Residential Solar Power Saves Less Energy Than Expected","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EImagine a household that consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of energy per month. Then they install solar panels on their roof that generate 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month on average. How much should their consumption of electricity drawn from the power grid decline after they install solar? Five hundred kilowatt hours is the expectation, but in reality, it\u2019s less than that for most people. Now, they\u2019re consuming more than 1,000 kilowatt hours per month.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThis paradox is called the solar rebound effect: the ratio of the increase in energy consumption to the amount that is generated by the solar panels. In new research out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/matthew-oliver\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMatthew Oliver\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E an associate professor in the \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESchool of Economics\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E, presented this argument for how the economics of solar power really work, in \u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1040619023000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETipping the Scale: Why Utility-Scale Solar Avoids a Solar Rebound and What It Means for U.S. Solar Policy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u201d published in \u003Cem\u003EThe\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003EElectricity Journal\u003C\/em\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cGetting people to adopt this technology does reduce their reliance on conventional energy sources, but not by as much as you think,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cThis is because people end up increasing their electricity consumption after adopting solar panels, as an economic and behavioral response.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EPeople may believe they are saving money due to subsidies, or might perceive that their electricity consumption isn\u2019t as environmentally damaging as it was before \u2014 so they leave the lights on longer and appliances running.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EPolicymakers must account for solar rebound when determining solar subsidies, Oliver argues. Take the example of a typical household. If their solar rebound is 20%, they\u2019re eliminating 20% of the carbon reduction benefits that they should have received from adding panels. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cYou have to build the estimated rebound effect into your benefit-cost ratio with regard to how much electricity consumption you\u0027re actually displacing,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause it\u0027s not happening on a one-for-one basis.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIf subsidizing residential solar proves to not be worthwhile, then shifting subsidies to utility-scale solar may be a good alternative. While household solar rebound effects happen because of individual consumer behavior, this is not an issue with utility providers. \u003Cspan\u003EUtility-scale solar could enable solar to reach its full carbon reduction potential. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cPolicymakers could consider reallocating subsidies in a more optimal way to support greater investment in utility-scale solar,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say policymakers wouldn\u2019t continue to subsidize residential solar, but there has been an overwhelming policy focus on the adoption of residential solar.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECITATION: Matthew E. Oliver, Tipping the scale: Why utility-scale solar avoids a solar rebound and what it means for U.S. solar policy, The Electricity Journal, Volume 36, Issue 4, 2023\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDOI:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.tej.2023.107266\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.tej.2023.107266\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThis paradox is called the solar rebound effect: the ratio of the increase in energy consumption to the amount that is generated by the solar panels. In new research out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/matthew-oliver\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMatthew Oliver\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E an associate professor in the \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESchool of Economics\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E, presented this argument for how the economics of solar power really work, in \u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1040619023000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETipping the Scale: Why Utility-Scale Solar Avoids a Solar Rebound and What It Means for U.S. Solar Policy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u201d published in \u003Cem\u003EThe\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003EElectricity Journal\u003C\/em\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"This paradox is called the solar rebound effect: the ratio of the increase in energy consumption to the amount that is generated by the solar panels."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2023-11-20 18:35:39","changed_gmt":"2024-01-03 16:47:13","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-11-20T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-11-20T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672424":{"id":"672424","type":"image","title":"oliver solar panels.jpg","body":null,"created":"1700580300","gmt_created":"2023-11-21 15:25:00","changed":"1700580300","gmt_changed":"2023-11-21 15:25:00","alt":"Solar panels on a residential home roof.","file":{"fid":"255657","name":"oliver solar panels.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/11\/21\/oliver%20solar%20panels.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/11\/21\/oliver%20solar%20panels.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1442077,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/11\/21\/oliver%20solar%20panels.jpg?itok=0GQz7omU"}}},"media_ids":["672424"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1282","name":"School of Economics"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}