Deploying solar photovoltaic through subsidies: An Australian case

Xiuyue Deng; Stephen Poletti; Timothy Hazledine; Miaomiao Tao; Erwann Sbai

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123293

Deploying solar photovoltaic through subsidies: An Australian case

J Environ Manage. 2024 Nov 18:372:123293. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123293. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiuyue Deng¹, Stephen Poletti¹, Timothy Hazledine², Miaomiao Tao³, Erwann Sbai¹

Affiliations

¹ Energy Centre, Department of Economics, Business School, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
² Department of Economics, Business School, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
³ Energy Centre, Department of Economics, Business School, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: tao.miaomiao@auckland.ac.nz.

PMID: 39561446
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123293

Abstract

Australia has garnered significant recognition for its leadership in residential solar energy adoption, driven by incentive programs like the Feed-in Tariff and the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Yet limited research has evaluated the policy's effects on residential solar photovoltaics in Australia. We thus examine how Feed-in tariff policies and different policy packages affect residential solar PV adoption using the quarterly data from July 2009 to June 2022. The benchmark results uncover that high Feed-in tariff rates, long-term contracts, and gross Feed-in tariff schemes substantially drive solar adoption in Australia. Still, the observed adverse relationship between cost and installed capacity highlights that upfront Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme subsidies effectively promote solar power. Our estimates may provide valuable implications for accelerating solar photovoltaic adoption and achieving renewable energy transitions in Australia.

Keywords: Feed-in tariff; Small-scale renewable energy scheme; Solar photovoltaic; Subsidies.