Assessing potential for policy feedback from renewable energy incentive programs

This article examines the potential for policy feedback from renewable energy incentive programs, focusing on New York State's solar PV incentive program. A framework is developed to assess feedback potential, considering beneficiary volume, partisanship, and distribution across electoral districts. The analysis reveals a positive association between the number of solar PV beneficiaries and Republican vote share, suggesting potential for a pro-solar constituency in key districts. However, beneficiaries skew Democratic within districts, raising questions about the direction of policy feedback. Implications for the Inflation Reduction Act are discussed.

Fedor A. Dokshin