An Empirical Analysis of Stakeholders' Perspectives and Policy Support for Distributed Renewal Energy Adoption in California's Association of Bay Area Governments

The rationale for secure, affordable, and sustainable energy is more compelling now than ever before. Decentralized renewable energy generation is a promising strategy for meeting California's renewable energy goals but is not widely implemented. Guided by the theories of public policy instrument choice and policy adoption, this quantitative study examined the relationship between policymakers' views of ratepayers' renewable energy perspectives and policymakers' support for distributed renewable energy programs. Empirical data were collected from local policymakers using a web-based survey. Five research questions that inquire whether policymakers' view of ratepayers' perspectives affect renewable energy policy decision were tested using a multiple linear regression model. Findings showed a significant positive relationship between policymakers' view of ratepayers' perception of the importance of sustainable energy use and policymakers' support for distributed renewable energy programs. The study also found a significant positive relationship between policymakers' view of ratepayers' perception of economic importance and policymakers' support for distributed renewable energy programs. Results of this research suggest that local government policymakers and community advocacy organizations could generate stronger ratepayer support for decentralized renewable energy generation by educating the public about it as a secured and sustainable energy option that will mitigate carbon emissions, help the local economy, and increase municipal revenue. This study leads to positive social change by supporting community leaders and local policymakers in promoting distributed renewable energy to ratepayers as an alternative policy option to sustainable energy that will reduce the environmental and social cost of carbon emissions.