Rooftop solar in the United States: Exploring trust, utility perceptions, and adoption among California homeowners

Abstract

The transition to a more sustainable grid is likely to involve residential customers who make decisions about whether or not to install solar panels on their property. It will require that utilities engage customers in order to effectively manage the demand and supply of electricity. This means that relationships between customers and utilities are key to the future electric grid. Although industry consultants are increasingly drawing attention to the importance of customer trust in their utility, little research examines the issue. Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, we draw on semi-structured interviews conducted with 61 California residents and analyzed with line-by-line coding to identify the main themes related to people’s perceptions of their utility company and their interest in solar energy. The interview results helped to inform the development of a survey conducted with California homeowners (N = 3402) and analyzed using a series of logistic regressions to quantitively assess the role of distrust. The findings from the two sets of data are complementary. Together they show that people who distrust their utility are more likely to be interested in and to have rooftop solar panels. Our findings have implications for the successful transition to a more sustainable grid.