Solar Adoption, Local Initiatives, Exchanges among Neighbors, and Conspicuous Environmentalism (SALIENCE)

The market for residential solar panels in the United States is growing rapidly. Yet, there are concerns that its expansion is not benefiting some population groups, especially people from lower-income households and people living in multifamily homes. As a result, new business models are emerging, reaching out to these groups. One of them is peer-to-peer solar. People who cannot have or afford a solar panel can purchase electricity from another household, through a peer-to-peer market. This study examines the effect of information campaigns promoting the adoption of solar panels through peer-to-peer solar. These campaigns would inform potential customers about the social aspects of joining the platform. Our campaigns are launched concurrently to citywide initiatives raising attention to solar energy. Potential customers are thus encouraged to go solar along with their fellow town residents. Our campaigns also stress that social rewards could be obtained by behaving in a green way, as the peer-to-peer platform allows sharing information on green behavior to online social networks. Specifically, we randomize potential customers in Massachusetts into those receiving a behavioral intervention focused on the community aspect of going solar as a city versus the social rewards of going green in a visible way (and a combination of the two). Hence, we complement a recent literature examining whether people are interested in sharing their greenness and whether they are more likely to undertake a given green behavior if that allows them to obtain social rewards for it.