Nudging for the increased adoption of solar energy? Evidence from a survey in Italy

The sun is a shining star in the emerging low-carbon society, providing bright solutions to mitigate climate change. This perspective article presents the results of an online survey that investigated peoples’ willingness to reshape their intraday energy use to both reduce energy consumption (especially from fossil fuel sources) and maximize green energy self-consumption. Respondents identified self-consumption as a key factor in reducing their energy bill. More generally, respondents’ consumption choices appeared largely driven by economic incentives. Hence, the introduction of a bonus for self-consumed energy may enhance the development of photovoltaic systems. From the results a bonus of 4 cent€/kWh and a green premium of 10 cent€/kWh come out. These findings could assist policy makers in forging policy actions based on a mix of monetary and non-monetary incentives to support the development of decentralized energy systems.