One Researched Reason for Why Neighbors Add Rooftop PV Systems

Washington Post (print ed.) headline today: “What’s behind the spread of solar? Peer pressure.” I’d have thought it’s because the price of panels has dropped so dramatically. From the article: “The installation of one additional solar photovoltaic roftop project within the past six months in a given area increased the average number of installations within a half-mile radium by 0.44, or almost half.” This report is based on the collaborative work of a Yale and a UConn professor as reported in the current edition of the Journal  of Economic Geography.

There are some other gems coming out of the research, particularly how the professors delimited geographically for their “peer pressure” theory: “…how you want people around you to think of you.” Check it out (Catherine).