Encouraging PV Adoption in New Market-Rate Residential Construction: A Critical Review of Program Experiences to Date

In this paper, we review experiences with programs to support the deployment of photovoltaics (PV) in new, market-rate homes, drawing upon interviews with program managers around the country, project data, and publicly-available documentation on program designs, impacts, and experiences. We focus on state clean energy funds, which have been established in 14 U.S. states to build markets for clean energy resources, as well a select number of other state or local organizations whose activities are particularly noteworthy. We describe the types of programs implemented and their impacts to date, and discuss key issues and lessons for initiatives aimed at growing the new home market for PV.