Affordable solar for whom? Understanding the effects of a policy intervention on residential solar adoption among vulnerable communities

Policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are an important component of the energy transition. Residential solar adoption allows for decreasing such emissions from the energy sector while generating benefits to adopting households. However, vulnerable communities might not be able to access benefits from residential solar due to physical and financial barriers to adoption of these technologies. Solar incentive policies targeting low income households have been adopted in several states to address these potential equity issues. This paper uses a difference-in-differences approach to examine the effects of one such policy, New York State's Affordable Solar program from 2010 to 2021. Our approach finds that the incentive itself does not increase solar adoption in low-income census tracts. We also find small increases in adoption among census tracts with high shares of minority populations suggesting heterogeneous effects among different demographic groups. Combining these results with a follow-up survey of New York solar installers, we provide evidence of some of the potential barriers limiting the impact of the Affordable Solar program. We use these findings to provide insights for other policies aimed at improving equitable access to solar energy.