Nontechnical Barriers to SOlar Energy Use: Review or Recent Literature

摘要

In this paper, we review the nontechnical barriers to solar energy use. Specifically, we draw on recent literature to help identify key barriers that must be addressed as part of the Technology Acceptance efforts under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar America Initiative. A broad literature search yielded more than 400 references, which we narrowed to 19 recent documents on nontechnical barriers to the use of solar energy and other energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE) technologies. The following were the most frequently identified barriers: Lack of government policy supporting EE/RE, Lack of information dissemination and consumer awareness about energy and EE/RE, High cost of solar and other EE/RE technologies compared with conventional energy, Difficulty overcoming established energy systems Inadequate financing options for EE/RE projects, Failure to account for all costs and benefits of energy choices, Inadequate workforce skills and training, Lack of adequate codes, standards, and interconnection and net-metering guidelines, Poor perception by public of renewable energy system aesthetics, Lack of stakeholder/community participation in energy choices and EE/RE projects. Below we describe our methodology, the documents reviewed, and the barriers most frequently identified. In addition, annotated references include detailed information for each of the key documents, including the technologies considered, the method of barrier identification, the geographic focus, a summary of the document, and the barriers identified.