Solar/ Renewable Energy Research

March 1, 2009 6:28 PM

I am looking for research data on demographic trends of customers of companies that have opted to install solar energy systems on their buildings. My hypothesis is that companies who invest in solar will attract a more affluent customer to the desired call to action than companies in the same industry, all other things being equal. I am interested in any data pertaining to manufacturing, retail, medical, commercial office, etc. applications. Any ideas of where I can find any secondary research that has been done on solar (or renewable) energy demographics? Thank you!
posted by wts111 to Technology (1 answer total)

Despite the enormous growth in the solar industry over the past decade, it is still a small market, and the number of companies that invest in solar power for their business is pretty small. Many solar companies would have trouble getting a big enough sample of customers to put together the information you're after, and those who have it would hold it pretty close. Also, there would be a large variation from country to coutnry, and even from state to state in the US.

A proxy to answer your question might be to look for information on companies that buy green electricity - there would be more of those around. There are some case studies from Australia here

My experience in the solar energy industry is that the correlation you are looking for is not there or would not be strong. Companies investing in solar power would probably do so because it aligns with the sort of products they sell - generally either high tech or green - and those sort of products would be attracting high-end consumers anyway.
posted by girlgenius at 9:11 PM on March 1, 2009