Full Title: Rooftop Solar Technical Potential for Low-to-Moderate Income Households in the United States
Author(s): Benjamin Sigrin and Meghan Mooney
Publisher(s): National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Publication Date: April 1, 2018
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Adoption of rooftop solar in the United States primarily has been concentrated in higher-income
households (Moezzi et al. 2017; Vaishnav et al. 2017). As technology costs decline and markets
expand, however, focus is shifting to increasing solar access in underserved market segments—
particularly to low-to-moderate income (LMI) households, or those earning 80% or less of the
area median income (AMI). A key policy goal is to expand solar access more equitably to ensure
the benefits of solar, including reduced energy burden, increased resilience, and hedge against
electricity rate changes are available to all ratepayers. To achieve this goal, a deeper
understanding of the potential LMI market is needed. Although LMI households represent about
43% of the U.S. population, it is unknown what proportion live in buildings suitable for PV, how
this potential is distributed among the buildings they live in, or what fraction of their electricity
needs could be met with rooftop solar.