FSR Annual Conference

Gautier A., Jacqmin J.* “PV Adoption in Wallonia: The Role of Distribution Tariffs under Net Metering”

May 21, 2018

The paper “PV Adoption in Wallonia: The Role of Distribution Tariffs under Net Metering” (Gautier A., Jacqmin J.) will be presented at the 7th Conference on the Regulation of Infrastructures (21-22June, 2018).

ABSTRACT

The deployment of decentralized productions units (DPU) like rooftop solar panels is a major challenge for energy transition. Under a net metering system where the meter runs backward when there is excessive PV production, the electricity produced is valued at the retail price. Higher retail prices thus encourage the deployment of DPU. In this paper, we study the impact of tariffs on the decision to install residential solar PV installations. We analyze a panel data from Wallonia, where tariffs depend largely from volumetric charges. We exploit the presence of 13 different grid operators with different tariffs, to disentangle this relationship. Using various specifications, our results suggest that a one eurocent per kWh of tariff increase leads to, all else equal, an increase of around 5% in the number of new installations.

The presentation is available here.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Julien Jacqmin* is assistant professor at Liège University – HEC-Liège where he teaches courses in introduction to microeconomics, applied microeconomics, advanced microeconomics and in energy and environmental economics. Julien obtained his PhD in 2013 from Université Saint-Louis Brussels. He later did a postdoc at the University of Montpellier before joining HEC-Liège in 2015. His research focuses on issues related to both the energy and higher education sector. Some of his research outputs have been published in journals like Research Policy, Energy Policy or Journal of Regulatory Economics.

* presenting author