Factors influencing the adoption of renewable energy in the U.S. residential sector: An optimal parameters-based geographical detector approach

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels has been a major contributor to global climate change. To mitigate the negative impact of fossil fuels, renewable energy (RE) has been increasingly promoted. This study aims to investigate factors impacting the adoption of RE in the residential sector, using the U.S. as a case study. Residential RE consumption rate data in 51 states/districts of the U.S. were collected from 2010 to 2018 to examine the adoption of RE. Correspondingly, four categories of explanatory variables affecting the consumption rate were investigated, including demographics, availability, consumers' affordability, and regulatory compliance motivation. An optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD) model was implemented to investigate spatio-temporal impacts of variables on the consumption rate. Results show that factors that have consistently significant impacts on residential RE adoption include percentage of RE production of the availability category and residential monthly electricity bill of the consumers’ affordability category. Population was also an important factor from 2012 to 2018. The impact of RE production rate can also be further enhanced when combined with other factors, such as residential monthly bill and number of regulatory policies. Based on these results, several practical recommendations are proposed as references for government to increase RE adoption.