Using Behavioral Science to Target LMI and High-Value Solar Installations (Final Technical Report)
This project is a data-driven analysis of approaches to facilitate solar adoption in LMI communities and areas with high potential benefits to the electric grid. The cornerstone of the project was two waves of randomized field experiments. The first wave involved novel approaches to reaching LMI communities based on insights from literature. The second wave involved areas of high potential of solar to the electricity grid, as determined in collaboration with the local utilities in Connecticut. Both waves were followed by surveys to develop insight into the effectiveness of different approaches. A third key element of the project is the development of new agent-based models of solar energy diffusion that explicitly incorporate the real spatial and temporal constraints that influence solar diffusion, based on real-world data on solar adoption. The project also involved outreach and dissemination of key findings to relevant stakeholders, including a guidebook on strategies to accelerate solar deployment to low and moderate income communities, multiple academic publications, and numerous presentations of the research findings.