Solar electricity cultures: Household adoption dynamics and energy policy in Switzerland

Abstract

The promotion of solar photovoltaics (PV) is one way that countries can reduce their energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. While there has been substantial growth in the uptake of PV in countries around the world, often coupled with financial incentives, climate change mitigation demands accelerated transition pathways. To drive purposeful policies, the underlying dynamics of PV adoption and diffusion need to be better understood. Specifically, place-specific social and cultural differences across countries and regions can impact policy effectiveness. This paper contributes to debates on PV adoption and energy policy in Berne, Switzerland, one of the top European countries of per capita PV growth. With a qualitative investigation of the household electricity cultures of PV adopters and non-adopters we examine the way in which ‘cultural’ attributes influence the uptake of PV. The research points to the complex dynamics of (non-)adoption. First, the findings illustrate that while cultures allow for change, their dynamics have self-sustaining tendencies. Secondly, more broadly shared cultural trends form part of a regionally-specific ‘contextual soup’ shaping the electricity cultures of households. Acknowledging place-specific, multi-scalar cultural dynamics we discuss the need to rethink policy preferences for economic factors in a one-size-fits-all perspective and promote targeted, context-specific PV policies.