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An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency / Bill Lee

Swansea University Author: Bill Lee

  • E-Thesis under embargo until: 1st January 2031

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUThesis.71336

Abstract

This thesis examines the socioeconomic dynamics and policy implications of solar photovoltaic (PV) development through three empirical essays. The first chapter investigates the evolving relationship between household income and solar PV adoption under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT)scheme from 2010 to 201...

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Published: Swansea 2026
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Dr Li, J. and Dr Shao, J.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71336
first_indexed 2026-01-29T11:37:18Z
last_indexed 2026-02-28T05:41:27Z
id cronfa71336
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2026-02-27T16:44:17.1236746 v2 71336 2026-01-29 An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency de84a531281db077a899c625f88c5a85 Bill Lee Bill Lee true false 2026-01-29 This thesis examines the socioeconomic dynamics and policy implications of solar photovoltaic (PV) development through three empirical essays. The first chapter investigates the evolving relationship between household income and solar PV adoption under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT)scheme from 2010 to 2018 in the UK. While higher-income areas initially led adoption, falling technology costs enabled broader participation, particularly among lower-income regions, over time.The second chapter explores the impact of solar energy on wholesale electricity prices in the UK. By isolating solar generation during daylight hours and analysing its merit order effect, the study finds that solar PV exerts a stronger price-reducing impact than wind, particularly during peak demand periods and energy crises. The third chapter evaluates how environmental policy stringency influences the development of solar capacity across OECD countries. Unlike prior studies that focus on cumulative renewable output, this research highlights the importance of annual added capacity to capture real-time policy impacts. It further distinguishes between direct and indirect policy instruments, revealing that only direct measures, such as taxes and subsidies, consistently drive solar development. Together, the findings of this thesis offer novel insights into the distributional effects of solar policies, the market consequences of renewable integration, and the effectiveness of regulatory instruments. They underscore the importance of reducing upfront investment barriers, designing market-friendly incentives, and strengthening direct environmental measures to support a more equitable and efficient energy transition. E-Thesis Swansea electricity price, environmental policy stringency, feed-in tariff, merit order effect, regional inequality, renewable deployment, renewables obligation, solar photovoltaics 6 1 2026 2026-01-06 10.23889/SUThesis.71336 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Dr Li, J. and Dr Shao, J. Doctoral Ph.D 2026-02-27T16:44:17.1236746 2026-01-29T11:25:25.0731592 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Social Sciences - Economics Bill Lee 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2026-01-29T11:35:35.5261178 Output 135244 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2031-01-01T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: The author, Bill Lee, 2025. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
title An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
spellingShingle An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
Bill Lee
title_short An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
title_full An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
title_fullStr An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
title_full_unstemmed An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
title_sort An Economic Analysis of Solar Power Development: Regional Disparities, Market Impacts, and Environmental Policy Stringency
author_id_str_mv de84a531281db077a899c625f88c5a85
author_id_fullname_str_mv de84a531281db077a899c625f88c5a85_***_Bill Lee
author Bill Lee
author2 Bill Lee
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUThesis.71336
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Social Sciences - Economics{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Social Sciences - Economics
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description This thesis examines the socioeconomic dynamics and policy implications of solar photovoltaic (PV) development through three empirical essays. The first chapter investigates the evolving relationship between household income and solar PV adoption under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT)scheme from 2010 to 2018 in the UK. While higher-income areas initially led adoption, falling technology costs enabled broader participation, particularly among lower-income regions, over time.The second chapter explores the impact of solar energy on wholesale electricity prices in the UK. By isolating solar generation during daylight hours and analysing its merit order effect, the study finds that solar PV exerts a stronger price-reducing impact than wind, particularly during peak demand periods and energy crises. The third chapter evaluates how environmental policy stringency influences the development of solar capacity across OECD countries. Unlike prior studies that focus on cumulative renewable output, this research highlights the importance of annual added capacity to capture real-time policy impacts. It further distinguishes between direct and indirect policy instruments, revealing that only direct measures, such as taxes and subsidies, consistently drive solar development. Together, the findings of this thesis offer novel insights into the distributional effects of solar policies, the market consequences of renewable integration, and the effectiveness of regulatory instruments. They underscore the importance of reducing upfront investment barriers, designing market-friendly incentives, and strengthening direct environmental measures to support a more equitable and efficient energy transition.
published_date 2026-01-06T06:26:13Z
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score 11.103649

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