Residential Photovoltaic Systems in Norway: Household Knowledge, Preferences and Willingness to Pay

Abstract

Solar power or photovoltaic (PV) systems have emerged as a leading low-carbon energy technology worldwide, but the deployment of residential PV systems in Norway has lagged behind other Scandinavian countries. Therefore, the Norwegian market provides an opportunity to gain insights on the demand factors that determine residential PV adoption. This paper presents results from a statedpreference survey designed to elicit household knowledge, preferences and willingness to pay for residential PV systems. Results suggest that meaningful growth in residential PV capacity depends greater knowledge among households, continued advances in technology, clarity with the grid tariff and stronger support systems. A review of recent experiences in the field corroborates the important role of effective regulatory structures and support programs.

A meta-analysis of residential PV adoption: the important role of perceived benefits, intentions and antecedents in solar energy acceptance

“…Data is typically generated from qualitative interviews [49][50][51][52], quantitative surveys [20,53,54], choice experiments [55][56][57], or panel data at the individual [58,59] or spatial level [60][61][62]. The conceptualization of adoption ranges from interest [63,64], intention [20,37,65], willingness to pay [37,56,66] to actual adoption behavior [67][68][69]. Data is assessed through methods like content analysis or semi-quantitative methods such as vote counting in qualitative studies [36,51,70].…”

“…Yet, it is likely that intentions to adopt a PV system are lower for renters, and that the technical feasibility is a major determinant for adoption intentions [36]. In addition, the literature body on PV adoption covers different countries with unique policy regimes, technical systems, geographical constraints and general living conditions (e.g., Norway [37], Israel [38], Japan [39], and Germany [40]). Lastly, one should remember that due to the limited sample size, sampling error is present in any study, hampering the informative value of single studies [33,41,42].…”

Recognizing the preventive quality in the adoption of innovations: The case of third-party ownership photovoltaic systems in Finland

“…The adoption of residential PV systems has been studied from multiple perspectives based on the diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory, behavioral theories including the Technology Acceptance Model, TAM [ 8 ], the Theory of Planned Behavior [ 9 ], and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, UTAUT [ 10 ], peer effects [ 11 , 12 ], socioeconomic factors [ 13 , 14 ], environmental and knowledge factors [ 15 ], and patterns of social acceptance [ 16 ], among others. Various publications focus on factors driving adoption across countries including the United States [ 7 ], Japan [ 17 ], and Mexico [ 13 ] as well as Northern locations such as Norway [ 18 ] and Finland [ 19 , 20 ]. Studies carried out in cross-national settings [ 21 , 22 ] highlight that adoption intention is context-specific and not easily generalizable across contexts.…”

“…These constructs have been modified in previous studies to understand behavioral adaptations in situations involving risk [ 2 , 4 ]; however, none of these constructs reveal the influence of the preventive quality of the innovation per se. Through this study, we contribute to findings from less obvious solar-producing locations [ 18 , 19 ] by exploring the perspective of prevention through DOI theory, seeking to build future research avenues that incorporate more frequently utilized behavioral theories.…”