The Spread of Solar Panels via the Diffusion of Innovations
Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels
http://environment.yale.edu/gillingham/BollingerGillingham_PeerEffectsSolar.pdf
The article, “Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels,” discusses the spread of solar panels in California. Specifically, how social interactions between consumers may result in social spillovers – a marketing action that affects one agent then indirectly influences other agents. These social spillovers are interesting since, as the article describes, the indirect effects of people using solar panels has resulted in social groups who were not initially interested in the benefits of solar panels nonetheless adopting them as well. The article references San Francisco Bay’s installation of solar panels and how the adoption of solar panels is increased by the presence of existing installations due to indirect influence of others. This indirect influence is evident in the geographical clustering of solar panel installations which clearly indicates a social peer effect.
Our lectures in INFO 2040 discussed the diffusion of new ideas, technologies, behaviors, opinions, practices, and conventions throughout a social network. This diffusion of innovations is directly related to the spread of behaviors in clusters; how people in a social group or cluster adopt a behavior from others in that same cluster. An “innovation” can also spread from one cluster to another based upon the relationships between individuals in both clusters. This cascade or spread of “innovations,” throughout various social groups, is based on copying/adopting the behaviors or information of others both inside the same cluster and in other clusters as well.
The article provides an interesting representation of how solar panel use has begun spreading between different social groups based upon social spillovers that were not expected when the technology was initially released. These social spillovers are a direct representation of the diffusion of innovations since the technology of solar panels is being spread throughout different social groups by people copying others’ from the initial social groups where solar panels were installed.