Courtesy : projects.iq.harvard.edu

Green economy case study

In the United States and several other countries around the globe, fossil fuels are the most
important sources of energy production. Today, the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, coal,
and gas provide approximately 80% of our energy needs and as the population and economy
grow rapidly, we can easily predict that this percentage will increase. While this growth is
beneficial economically, it has unavoidable negative externalities such as threats to the
environment and our lives. The combustion of fossil fuels emits gases and chemicals into the
atmosphere, and in an especially destructive feedback loop, air pollution not only contributes to
but also exacerbates climate change. According to a 2014 EPA study, carbon dioxide accounted
for 81% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with methane accounting for 11%
(Mackenzie,2016), both of which are byproducts of the combustion of fossil fuels. This brings up
a long-running debate: “Do you compromise the economy to save the environment, or do you
compromise the environment to save the economy?” Such discussions, in particular, emphasize
the significance of transitioning to a green economy.
A green economy is one that promotes both sustainability and economic growth. It is a viable
alternative to today’s dominant economic model, which exacerbates inequalities, promotes waste,
causes resource scarcity, and poses widespread threats to the environment and human health.
The transition to a green economy can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but we have focused
on one that is most critical: the power sector. Cleaner energy resources such as solar energy
produce negligible or no greenhouse gas emissions, switching to them as our main source of
energy, would reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which fossil fuels are primarily
responsible for. Furthermore, solar panels have been widely available for mass consumption since
1963, and the benefits of this renewable energy on the environment, economy, and people’s daily
lives have been widely accepted by the majority of environmental scientists, green engineers, and
economists.
Despite all of this data to support the transition to solar energy, only 6% of American
homeowners claim to have installed solar panels on their properties as of 2019 (Kennedy &
Thigpen, 2019). There is clearly a problem, and research in this area appears to be lacking. This
provides an opportunity to conduct research and analyze response data from homeowners both
nationally and overseas, to better understand the socioeconomic status of individuals purchasing
solar panels and what factors influenced their decision to switch. This research aims to provide
insight to the feasibility and appeal of a green economy and aid the local and state to put more
effort into making this transition a reality.
Background Information
Environmental Incentives:
The contribution of solar energy to the global and United States electricity supply is moderate but

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growing at a rapid pace—a consequence of steep reductions in the cost of solar energy, and in the
United States, a host of policy measures at the state and federal level. At the federal level, the
United States has invested in various programs that provide direct financial assistance to solar
power projects, such as the investment tax credit. In addition, the federal government has
designed a targeted research program called the SunShot Initiative in an ambitious attempt to
bring in new and revamped solar technologies to market and to reduce the overall costs of
deploying existing technologies. One of the central goals of this initiative is to reduce the total
installation cost of utility solar photovoltaics to $1 per Wdc by 2021, as well as other concomitant
reductions in the cost of solar replacements and applications. In the long run, these initiatives aim
to strengthen the role of solar as a low-cost source of energy and motivate higher levels of
electricity supply through the use of solar.
Achieving the aforementioned cost reductions would drive profound and long-lasting
implications for the solar industry, the electricity sector as a whole, end-use electricity consumer,
and the environment. Considerable progress has already been made in meeting the intended cost
goals, though success by 2021. The Department of Energy recently released the SunShot Vision
Study to provide an in-depth assessment of the great potential of solar technologies and to
evaluate the environmental implications of reaching the SunShot cost objectives. The study
explicitly recommends that the overall solar electricity penetrations of annual U.S. electricity
demand be at 14% by 2020 and 27% by 2030 (DOE, 2012). While these estimates are detailed
and time-sensitive, they do not comprehensively quantify the significant environmental and
health advantages associated with achieving such levels of solar penetration.
The environmental and public health benefits of solar energy stem from averting the harmful
usage of combustion-based electricity generation. Depending on the fuel and technology type,
combustion-based electricity generation emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and releases
nitrogen oxides. These pollutants contribute to ozone air pollution. Breathing elevation
concentrations of ozone can dramatically reduce lung function, making it more difficult to breathe
deeply and vigorously.
Global Energy Resources:
Current global energy consumption is 4.1 ×10 J annually. Projected population and economic
growth are predicted to more than double this consumption rate by 2040 and more than triple it
by 2100. Ergo, in order to adequately boost global primary energy supply, a prospective energy
resource must be utilized that can provide a minimum of 1-10 TW of power for an extended
period of time. Moreover, the existential threat of climate change creates an extra requirement on
prospective energy resources: they must generate energy without emitting any form of
greenhouse gases. Fortunately, solar energy meets both of these requirements.
It is important to note that solar energy is diffuse and intermittent, so it must be harnessed in a
system of effective storage and distribution. This is imperative to matching supply with demand.
Specific Aims and Objectives

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Renewable energy sources play a vital role in securing sustainable energy with lower emissions1.
Renewable energy technologies significantly cover electricity demand and most importantly,
guarantee a sustainable path for the future. This research paper seeks to double down on the
overall appeal of a Green Economy transition, as well as the unique benefits of using renewable
energy sources like solar.
Most importantly, this investigation aims to discern whether or not the average American resident
should make the switch to solar. “Do the benefits outweigh the concerns?” We believe so.
Additionally, we conducted several tests to evaluate and analyze our collected data. This includes
ANOVA tests, frequency tables, and a descriptive diagram. These tests will allow us to turn our
units of data into quantifiable information that can then be used to deduce the appeal of a Green
Economy. Through this, we hope to provide insight into the feasibility of a Green Economy
transition, and hopefully aid local and state politicians in putting more effort into making this
transition a reality.
Materials & Methods
Our research study was taken in the form of a google form and specifically qualitative data was
used. The Google form had 4 sections and nearly 12 questions that the participants had to answer.
The questions came in the form of multiple-choice, multiple selections, and open-ended. The
initial target for the form was only residents living in New York, but through later research, it was
found that a majority of residents living in New York do not have any control over the use of
solar panels wherever they are living. That is our research group expanded the form to the United
States as a whole, and a few foreign locations which gave our research a wider perspective and
enhanced its reliability. The plan was to have more than 100 responses like that will be able to
further our study and show the reason as to why the subjects are not using solar panels, and what
can the government or private companies do to help in their own opinions. The total number of
responses was 159, which exceeded our research group’s expectations. The people who were
answering the questions were targeted to be homeowners, as they have the say whether they are
going to install the solar panels or not. The main aim for the google form was to determine what
motivated people to switch to solar energy, and why the homeowners switched. Our research
study wanted to look at the changing factors and variables. We wanted to see if that could be
enhanced and do it country-wide to make solar energy accessible to further save the environment.
They were many different categorical questions asked in the survey to further analyze the public
opinion towards a green life.
The independent variables are the income brackets, and whether they have solar panels installed
and their location. The dependent variables are their motivation to switch to solar, their
hesitations to switch to solar, and what would convince them to solar, and if you were to switch to
solar how much would the subjects spend. As stated early the questions were divided up into
mainly 3 different sections. In the first section, the first question that was asked was the town that
the subject lives in. This question is important because depending on where they live, it is
questionable whether they can install solar panels or not. For example, in New York, it is highly
unlikely that residents can set up their solar panels. While in Edison New Jersey it is easier to set

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up solar panels as many residents are homeowners. The next question would be the income
bracket, and our research group made this optional even though the form was unanimous. The
income bracket is significant because if the subject had a low income, that could be their reason
as to why they do not want to switch to solar. If the subject fits into the high-income bracket,
then, the reason as to why they have not switched to solar is different and evidently, that is what
the entire research study is about. The third question was an opinionated question on whether the
subjects care about the negative health effects that fossil fuel creates. The options were strongly
disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. Several questions were given the same
options, and these options were used to show the audience real opinion and would be used for the
main research aim. The fourth question is whether the subjects care about the negative
environmental effects that fossil fuels produce. Again, they were given the same options: strongly
disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. This question showed whether the audience
cared about the environment at all, and how did that correlate towards opinion on solar panels.
The fifth question was a rating question, and it was how would you rate the use of solar panels in
your town from 1-5. This question was asked to give our group an idea of how solar panels are
used in their town in the first place. The 6th question is whether the subject already has solar
panels. This question is crucial to the study, if the subject said yes then the rest of the questions
would be aimed towards why the subject switched to solar, and if the subject said no the question
would be why not? The second section is for mainly people who said yes. The 7th question was
would you recommend getting solar based on your experience. The options were yes and no, and
we were wondering what the answers from those who would be already have solar. The 8th
question was a rating question from extremely diffusion to extremely easy and the question was
how easy it is to maintain solar panels. Although solar panels do provide the same amount of
electricity the normal fossil fuel provider does it does cost a lot to maintain.