Essays on renewable energy deployment and local preferences
Date
2024-05
Authors
Chen, Jian
Major Professor
Advisor
Feng, Hongli
Hayes, Dermot J.
Hoffman, Elizabeth
Zhang, Wendong
McCalley, James D.
Committee Member
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Abstract
This dissertation consists of four essays that explore key issues around renewable energy deployment and local preferences for utility-scale solar energy.
In “Heterogeneity in State Solar and Wind Deployments: Trade-offs between Technology-neutral and Technology-specific Renewable Energy Policies,” we evaluate the impacts of renewable portfolio standards (RPS) as a technology-neutral policy and RPS with solar carve-out (SRPS) as a technology-specific policy on U.S. state-level solar and wind deployments. Our results reveal that the implementation of SRPS significantly enhanced in-state solar deployment but resulted in a lower in-state wind deployment. These results provide empirical evidence that RPS and SRPS imply significant trade-offs between solar and wind development. In particular, SRPS promoted solar deployment at the expense of wind, the relatively lower-cost energy source, and thus higher costs of electricity generation.
In “Crowding-in or Crowding-out: Assessing the Role of Distributed Solar Photovoltaic in Utility-scale Solar Development,” we provide a theoretical model and empirical evidence about the role of distributed solar photovoltaic (DSP) in the development of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (USP) systems. Using U.S. county-level data from 2001 to 2020 and a simultaneous equation model, we find a significant crowding-in effect of DSP on USP capacity investment. Our findings also indicate heterogeneous patterns in DSP and USP capacity investment across North American Electric Reliability Corporation Regions and time periods. Furthermore, we observe varying effects of DSP on USP capacity investment across counties based on income quartiles, with medium- and high-income counties experiencing significant crowding-in effects while no significant effects are observed among low-income counties.
In “Does More Knowledge Mean More Support? Exploring Information, Knowledge, and Perception of Utility-Scale Solar,” we investigate the marginal effects of knowledge levels related to solar, information treatments, and their interconnections in shaping people's perceptions and attitudes toward utility-scale solar energy systems. To achieve our research objectives, we designed and implemented a survey targeting both public officials and the general population in Iowa. Our empirical results suggest that individuals with a higher level of knowledge about utility-scale solar energy tend to express a higher degree of support for adopting such projects within their community. Individuals' attitudes are more responsive to adverse information treatment. Notably, there are significant differences between public officials and the general population in attitudes and responsiveness to information treatments. Moreover, our findings indicate that individuals with high-knowledge levels are more supportive of hosting a utility-scale solar project within their communities compared to low-knowledge individuals.
In “Agriculture or Solar Farm: Exploring Preferences for Utility-scale Solar Energy in Local Communities,” we examine how local communities value the attributes associated with utility-scale solar projects and quantify the trade-offs of agricultural land use and other factors associated with utility-scale solar systems, such as environmental outcomes and economic consequences. Our results suggest that individuals are more likely to support the proposed project when it leads to a greater reduction in carbon emissions compared to a coal-fired power plant, offers higher leasing payments to landowners, results in more energy savings on monthly electricity bills, and is situated on lower-quality farmland. Additionally, we observe significant differences in the valuation of various attributes related to utility-scale solar among subgroups, including public officials and the general population, as well as landowners and non-landowners. Our results also suggest disparities in trade-offs between agricultural land use and other attributes across different subgroups and information treatment groups. Furthermore, our findings indicate that individuals with rooftop or community solar experience, or those highly interested in participating in the near future, are significantly less likely to view land use as the primary challenge.
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dissertation