Abstract
This paper identifies socioeconomic factors that are supposed to impact the investment decision of private households in Germany regarding small-scale solar PV (photovoltaic) systems. In 2022, the last nuclear power plant will phase out and the end of coal-fired power plants is fixed for 2038. Thus, the legislator is mandated to foster the addition of renewable energy capacities to close the gap fossil fuels and nuclear power leaves. Some share of the renewable energies could be from private households that mainly invest in small-scale solar PV systems. To stimulate investments, it is necessary to identify factors that are important for the investment decisions of private households. Within this paper, secondary socioeconomic data for the period from 2009–2018 was compiled. In order to identify the latent variables, a factor analysis was conducted. The results state five factors that are supposed to impact the investment decisions of the prosumer in Germany.
Highlights
Climate change has become a topic that is top of the agenda of legislators and civil society worldwide
The legislator is mandated to foster the addition of renewable energy capacities to close the gap fossil fuels and nuclear power leaves
Some share of the renewable energies could be from private households that mainly invest in small-scale solar PV systems
Summary
Climate change has become a topic that is top of the agenda of legislators and civil society worldwide. In Germany, the energy transition is in progress, meaning the expiration of nuclear power plants in the year 2022 [1]. In 2020, the German legislator decided to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2038 [2]. The gap that fossil fuels and nuclear power leave is supposed to be closed by renewable energies, especially wind and solar power [3]. Due to the lowered subsidies and the intention of the legislator to integrate the RES, solar PV systems, into the regular electricity market system, investments decreased significantly [5]. From 2012 onward, the yearly added capacities of solar PV systems started to decrease, from 7.600 MWp (megawatt peak) in 2012 to 1.500 MWp in 2016. The current investments in solar PV systems are not enough for Germany’s energy transition
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