Income-Targeted Marketing as a Supply-Side Barrier to Low-Income Solar Adoption

Abstract

Despite improving economics, low- and moderate-income (LMI) households remain less likely to adopt rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) than higher-income households. To date, researchers and policymakers have focused on demand-side drivers of PV adoption inequity, but supply-side factors could also play a role. Here, we use quote data to explore whether PV installers implement income-targeted marketing strategies and the extent to which such strategies drive adoption inequity. The quote data show that installers submit significantly fewer quotes to households in low-income areas. Further, the data show that households that receive fewer quotes are less likely to adopt. As a first order approximation, the data suggest that income-targeted marketing explains about one-quarter of the difference in PV adoption rates between LMI and higher-income households. Policymakers could explore a broader suite of interventions to address both demand- and supply-side drivers of PV adoption inequity.