The Economics and Policy of Solar Photovoltaic Generation

This book provides an up-to-date, rigorous analysis of the state of the art of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. It focuses on the economic analysis of solar PV generation technologies as well as the policies that have been devised and implemented around the globe to support it. It provides the main theoretical tools for understanding the cost of these technologies, and discusses them from both a historical and comparative perspective with respect to other competing technologies (both conventional and renewable). In addition, it presents the conceptual rationale to maximize reader insights into whether and how public support for these technologies is justified as well as the consequences for the economy of different promotion measures. Integrating concepts from different economics disciplines (environmental economics, innovation economics, industrial economics and public economics) into a coherent basis for the analysis of the costs and policies for solar PV electricity, it provides an update to the literature to reflect recent advances in and deployments of solar electricity and the drastic reduction in associated costs.


Pere Mir-Artigues and Pablo del Río have a 20-year experience in the economics and policy of renewable energy. Pablo del Río made a postdoctoral research stay on renewable energy support schemes at Riso National Laboratory, System Analysis Department in Denmark. Since 1999, he has actively participated in 6 European-funded projects on renewable energy promotion in the EU. He has more than 80 international publications in world-class journals. More than half of these publications are devoted to renewable energy, 5 of which are with Professor Pere Mir-Artigues. Both authors have recently published a report on solar PV electricity policy in Spain for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (Geneva). Pere Mir-Artigues made a recent stay (in 2013) at the Electricity Policy Research Group (Cambridge University). He has also experience in the public management of renewable electricity projects.