Publication Date

2026

Department

Economics

Advisor

Botir Okhunjanov

Abstract

This submission examines how California’s Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3.0) affected the size and installed price of new residential and non-residential solar systems. Using project-level data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a difference-in-differences model, the study compares California before and after the April 15, 2023 policy change with four control states. The results suggest a small decline in residential system size, a substantially larger decline in non-residential system size, and an approximately 3% reduction in residential installed prices. The paper considers what these findings mean for distributed solar adoption and California’s clean-energy goals.

Document Type

Thesis

Description

Denison University Summer Scholar Project

COinS