Behaviour Research on UK Rooftop Solar

**Please note this is an Award Notice not a call for competition** This contract has been awarded via Energy and Climate Change Behavioural Science Framework Agreement. Reference: CR20116.

Background

Research conducted through the Behavioural Insights Framework will address evidence gaps that have arisen since changes were made to the solar subsidy regimes in 2015. BEIS lacks detail on how the solar market has developed subsidy free, and the trajectory that the industry will take over the coming ten years. This is particularly the case for domestic and small commercial rooftop solar, where following the closure of the FITs scheme there is lack of data on who is deploying rooftop solar and why they are choosing to do so. (There is no central register of projects receiving export tariffs under the new supplier led Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) and many domestic- scale projects are classified as permitted developments so are not visible in planning data bases). There is very little research on consumer approaches to rooftop solar. The research in the public domain tends to be older (e.g. 2007) or international (e.g. Nordic nations or Australia.) and as such is specific to their climate and culture. There may be some UK examples of market research, but this is not publicly available. BEIS does hold some information on the popularity of solar (BEIS public attitudes tracker), but this is public opinion research rather than behavioural insights analysis. We are content for existing evidence to supplement this project but require new research to gather evidence specifically on rooftop solar in Great Britain in 2021 (this research is concerned with GB only, as energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland).

In summary, we are seeking to address the following evidence gaps through this research:

• Which factors influence people's decisions to deploy solar panels on their home or business?
• What are the key barriers limiting deployment of solar panels?
• What is the consumer profile of those deploying solar on their home or business?