Scaling up solar photovoltaic use : A system-oriented assessment of experiences gained in deployment

The transition towards low-carbon energy systems undeniably requires a strong scale-up in the diffusion of renewable energy technologies globally. Given its theoretical and techno-economic potential, solar photovoltaics (PV) is considered an important option. The envisioned scale-up of the use of solar PV, however, requires an in-depth and system-oriented perspective on structures and processes related to deployment. Particularly, as deployment-related aspects critically determine the competitiveness of PV, they need to be more comprehensively understood in order to be purposefully managed through policy and business decisions.Using an interdisciplinary, multi-level and system-oriented research approach, the analytical framework of this thesis draws on concepts from innovation system theory, network theory, business model theory, and the experience curve approach. Based on empirical examinations of the deployment experience in pioneering countries of distributed PV (primarily Germany, as well as the United States and Japan and, to some degree, other EU and OECD countries), the thesis aims to advance knowledge by providing a system-oriented perspective on deployment-related structures and processes.Results show that PV deployment relies on the collaborative actions of and interactions between a multitude of actors, including solar firms, utilities, banks, governments, users, and non-profit initiatives. Furthermore, results show the creation, accumulation and transfer of a comprehensive knowledge base related to deployment, both from domestic and international viewpoints. This deployment knowledge involves multiple dimensions (technical, financial, legal-regulatory, quality assurance, marketing, etc.). Processes of local learning are found to be critical for the effective integration of PV technology into the physical, organizational and institutional infrastructures of distinct geographies. In fact, findings reveal that structures, processes and strategies related to PV deployment depend significantly on geographic, institutional and cultural context. Furthermore, results help in understanding the decline of soft deployment costs as a result of the accumulation of local experience in deployment. Generally, soft deployment costs include labour costs, permit and insurance fees, as well as a variety of transaction costs associated with business transactions and compliance with different legal-administrative requirements. The findings also portray how dedicated business strategies of solar firms can address barriers to the adoption of PV by private users.The research outcomes exhibit several implications for the design of PV deployment policies. They highlight in particular the need for a holistic understanding of deployment systems as a knowledge foundation for more integrated policy approaches. Policies may be directed at demand creation, network formation, knowledge and awareness, streamlining of legal-administrative regulations, and a variety of other measures that contribute to the formation and further development of well-functioning local PV markets. The stronger inclusion of deployment-related aspects, as assessed in this thesis, into future policy assessment frameworks could support decision-making towards more integrated PV deployment policies

Towards a Circular Photovoltaic Economy: The Role of Service-based Business Models

Solar photovoltaics (PV) has experienced tremendous market growth and has large potential in the urgently needed transition towards a low-carbon energy system. The continued growth of the sector will, however, evoke new sustainability challenges with regard to efficient material use as well as end-of life management of PV products. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of potential Circular Economy actions in the PV sector, and explore the present and potential future role of servicebased business models in operationalizing these actions. Based on a review of academic and industry literature, the paper structures the circularity actions according to the ReSOLVE framework. The analysis also distinguishes between the role of product-oriented, use-oriented and result-oriented product-service systems (PSS). Results show that to result oriented business models have primarily been implemented in order to facilitate the adoption of PV deployment. Product-oriented PSS are widespread with the service component involving maintenance, repair, insurance and warranties. The paper further explores opportunities of service-based business models to enhance additional circularity actions such as a sharing, optimisation and looping, which so far are mostly in a conceptual or pilot stage only. Expanding beyond current practices, the paper explores future pathways of service-based business models to catalyse a range of additional circular economy actions in the PV sector, and discusses some of the associated key challenges and gaps in knowledge

Circular Business Models for the Solar Power Industry - Guide for Policy Makers

Solar power and electric vehicles (EV) are set to play a leading role in the achievement of the 2030 EU renewable targets and the commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. Importantly, solar photovoltaics (PV), in combination with energy storage, also has the potential to significantly enhance European energy security, provide citizens and industry with competitive energy, and lead to the creation of thousands of jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and end-of-life management. While the expected rapid growth of the solar power sector over the coming decade will bring along various resource and waste management challenges, following a circular economy strategy can ensure that these will be handled in a proactive and future-proof manner. Furthermore, a circular economy approach will offer the European solar industry new business opportunities in the design and manufacturing of circular-ready products, as well as in the reuse, refurbishment and recycling of older solar panels.In response to the emerging resource and waste challenges of the solar power and battery sectors, the CIRCUSOL Innovation Action project (funded by the Horizon2020 programme of the European Commission) explored a number of innovative approaches and strategies towards circular business models in these two sectors. Specifically, the project focused on four circularity strategies: (1) reuse of discarded PV panels in second-life applications, and enabled through service-based business models; (2) repurposing of EVBs in second-life applications, specifically for stationary storage of solar power, and enabled through service-based business models; (3) ecodesign of PV panels; and (4) recycling of PV panels through innovative techniques.This guide for policy makers is based on the lessons learned in the CIRCUSOL project from 2018-2022. It compiles key findings from the project and seeks to sketch out pathways and strategies on the way forward. As such, the report aims to contribute to a debate across policy makers, industry representatives, experts and other stakeholders about a potential future policy and governance framework that could catalyze the transition towards circular and resource-efficient solar power and EV battery sectors in Europe

Best available technologies and techniques in the transport sector

This report has been compiled within the framework of the programme on Regional Air Pollution in Developing Countries (RAPIDC), Phase III conducted during the period 2005-2008. RAPIDC is funded by the Department of Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation (INEC) of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). It is coordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and carried out in collaboration with Swedish Universities and research organisations together with inter-governmental agencies and research organisations in Asia and Africa. This work has been produced by the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University. This document generally focuses upon, and is primarily directed towards the eight signatory countries to the Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and Its Likely Transboundary Effects for South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) but is in essence relevant to most developing countries. This document serves as a decision support information resource for best available technologies and techniques to address air pollution from the transport sector. Drawing on the experiences of other countries, regions and municipalities this document presents a comprehensive overview and successful examples of technical and organisational measures and strategies that can contribute towards reduced air pollution from transport systems. Best available technologies and techniques (practices) that should be considered when defining strategies for sustainable and cleaner transport systems are presented within this report. This work distinguishes between: (1) land use planning and mobility management, being the fundamental starting point for managing and steering transport demand, (2) transit, walking and cycling being more sustainable transport options than individual motorised transport, and finally (3) cleaner vehicles and cleaner fuels

An innovation system perspective on the drivers of soft cost reduction for photovoltaic deployment : The case of Germany

Previous studies about the trends and sources of PV soft cost reduction have only offered a limited understanding of systemic aspects that drive this development. Drawing on concepts of sectoral innovation system theory, this study analyzes the evolution of the German PV sectoral system since the early 1990s, focusing specifically on key processes associated with the deployment of building-sited PV systems. The findings from the analysis suggest that soft cost reductions have been the result of numerous processes, including demand and market expansion, interactions across various agents, knowledge generation and learning, diversity creation and selection, and development of the institutional context. This paper offers a novel application of the sectoral innovation system concept in order to investigate incremental innovations and associated cost reductions that occur in the deployment of new energy technologies. For policymakers and other practitioners, the study offers new insights on how to support various processes that can enable (soft) cost reductions

Streamlining photovoltaic deployment : The role of local governments in reducing soft costs

Steep declines in photovoltaic (PV) technology prices have directed attention to the so-called soft costs associated with PV deployment. This paper focuses on one element of soft costs: those that arise from local permitting and inspection processes typically being handled by municipalities. Based on a literature review, the paper compares the status of local PV permitting in the US and Germany. Results show the significant potential for municipalities to streamline local permit procedures, a process that can be facilitated by higher-level governance rules, standardizing bodies, and other solar advocacy coalitions

Circular business model innovation : A guidebook for practitioners

The purpose of this booklet is to offer easy-to-use guidelines for businesses to design and implement circularity strategies into their business model. Specifically, the booklet will provide step-by-step guidance on how to ideate, design, test, and scale novel circular business models. For each stage of this circular business model innovation (CBMI) process a selection of tools and methods will be introduced. These tools offer firms guidance and a structured approach on how to approach the CBMI process throughout the single stages.The intended main audience of this guidebook are businesses in a wide range of sectors who seek for a structured technique on how to innovate their business model towards a circular economy through a collaborative and co-creative process with their stakeholders. In particular, the intended users of this method are business innovation support professionals, such as strategy and innovation units within companies, consultancy firms, incubators and accelerators, universities, institutes and NGOs working with companies in the field of circular economy business innovation.This guidebook is one of the outcomes of the CIRCUSOL project. CIRCUSOL (www.circusol.eu) is a Research and Innovation Action project funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Commission for the period 2018-2022. CIRCUSOL wants to unleash the full potential of service-based circular business models in the solar power industry, simultaneously delivering real environmental, economic and user benefits. The project consortium has brought together 15 partners from 7 different countries, representing research centres and universities, as well as industrial players and businesses from the solar power and battery value chains.The circular business model innovation tools and processes compiled in this guidebook have been compiled from an extensive review of the literature from a variety of inter-related academic research fields, including business model theory, product service system concepts, business model innovation, co-creation and experimentation. Integrating several of these established tools and approaches, CIRCUSOL developed a dedicated framework to enable circular business model innovation (CBMI) in the solar power value chain. The framework was used and tested extensively in the CIRCUSOL project

Experiments to identify new business models

This report compiles the findings of two business experiment surveys, conducted under CIRCUSOL Task 2.4. The experiments investigated customer preferences for two relatively novel market segments for circular photovoltaics, specifically (1) solar-powered charging stations for shared micro-mobility services, and (2) PV-systems for home-charging of electric vehicles. The experiments used the method of choice-based conjoint analysis, thereby simulating the user adoption situation in a simple format. The method is particularly suitable for identifying the trade-offs users need to make when adopting a novel technology. Survey respondents were recruited through a variety of channels, including advertisements in Google. The experiment surveys were conducted during the period May – September 2021in Germany, one of Europe’s most developed PV markets.Based on a sample of 155 completed responses, the findings in Experiment 1 on solar-powered charging stations for shared micro-mobility services suggest that users would value sustainability aspects of the charging station (type of electricity, circularity aspects) in the same order of magnitude as convenience-related attributes (distance of charging station from final destination) and financial attributes (cost savings). In terms of preferences for sustainability aspects, the data suggests that using locally generated solar energy from distributed charging stations is clearly preferred, with charging station assembled with re-used components having a noticeable preference over those ones that comprise of new components. Additional segmentation analysis gave deeper insights into the heterogeneity of user preferences. Some subsets of the sample have a clearly higher preference towards the use of renewable energy and circularity, while for other subsets higher cost savings are important. Knowledge about these heterogeneous user preferences for different attributes of a value proposition can be of value for micro-e-mobility service firms as well as for the manufacturers of solar-powered charging stations, such as CIRCUSOL partner SunCrafter GmbH.In Experiment 2, the data is based on 81 completed survey responses. It shows a clear preference of the majority of respondents towards purchasing and owning the solar EV charging system themselves. Service-based ownership and operating models are clearly disfavoured. Furthermore, users prefer a high solar self-sufficiency rate along with some cost savings. Regarding circularity aspects, the data suggests a marginal user preference towards re-used panels over new ones. Overall, respondents attribute a higher importance to the type of ownership and operating model and the solar-self-sufficiency rate than to the attribute of cost savings. Similar to Experiment 1, the segmentation analysis gave further insights on the variety of preferences among the user sample. A subset of respondents that have expressed a particular positive attitude towards adoption of reused-solar panels also appears to have an above-average preference for higher rates of cost savings (20%, 30%), for purchasing and owning the PV charging system themselves, and for high solar self-sufficiency rates (70 – 100%). This data would contradict earlier assumptions made in the CIRCUSOL project that service-based business models would catalyse the adoption of second-life PV components, due to their ability to offer users low-risk and convenience value. The results of these two experiments are envisioned to be fed back to the cocreation work of Task 2.3, and into business plan and replication plan work in WP5. In sum, the findings show that user preferences for service-based circular value propositions vary widely, and business firms in the solar sector are recommended to take this heterogeneity into account when designing and innovating their business model. The experiments conducted under Task 2.4 are just one building block in the business model innovation process. The results are not be interpreted as ultimate answers, but can rather serve as input to subsequent iterations of the build-measure-learn cycle. To gain more refined insights into the customer preferences of the identified sub-segments, additional cycles of business experimentation are recommended. Finally, the experiments also provided some useful lessons on methodological aspects for online surveys, thereby building on some of the earlier work reported in the literature

Cost dynamics in the deployment of photovoltaics : Insights from the German market for building-sited systems

In most studies on technology change, the analysis of cost reductions of new energy technologies has been narrow and has often neglected essential processes related to the deployment of new technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV). However, in the case of distributed PV systems, other costs than for the PV modules – aka the deployment or balance-of-system costs – are significant. This review study identifies the long-term dynamics of “hard” and “soft” costs associated with the deployment of building-sited PV systems in Germany since the early 1990s. The results show that the costs for central hardware components such as inverters and mounting systems have decreased by 70–87% since the 1990s. Results also show that “soft deployment costs” such as planning and installation decreased by 65–85%, and the corresponding experience curve has a progress ratio of 88–90%. The results imply that both hard and soft deployment costs have decreased with cumulative experience. Generally speaking, deployment processes, and support for such processes, are essential for the assessment of the overall cost dynamics related to the implementation of new energy technologies such as PV

Overcoming barriers to renewable energy diffusion: business models for customer-sited solar photovoltaics in Japan, Germany and the United States

Transformative change of energy systems towards distributed renewable technologies requires not only technological but also organisational innovation in order to engage broad segments of the private consumer market. Using the business model concept as an analytical tool, this comparative study investigates organisational configurations related to the deployment of customer-sited photovoltaic (PV) systems in Germany, Japan and the United States. Results show how the deployment of customer-sited PV systems in these three countries has been enabled and catalysed through distinctively different business models. Specifically, solar firms have managed to overcome various barriers to the adoption of PV in distinct ways. Furthermore, we identify a number of contextual conditions that have shaped the design and mode of operation of the respective business models in the three countries. The study provides novel insights for both policy makers and solar firms that wish to develop alternative governance models and new business strategies, respectively. Such insights are important to support the accelerated diffusion of distributed PV systems