  This research article explores potential influencing factors of solar
photovoltaic (PV) system adoption by municipal authorities in Germany in the
year 2019. We derive seven hypothesized relationships from the empirical
literature on residential PV adoption, organizational technology adoption, and
sustainability policy adoption by local governments, and apply a twofold
empirical approach to examine them. First, we explore the associations of a set
of explanatory variables on the installed capacity of adopter municipalities
(N=223) in an OLS model. Second, we use a logit model to analyze whether the
identified relationships are also apparent between adopter and non-adopter
municipalities (N=423). Our findings suggest that fiscal capacity (measured by
per capita debt and per capita tax revenue) and peer effects (measured by the
pre-existing installed capacity) are positively associated with both the
installed capacity and adoption. Furthermore, we find that institutional
capacity (measured by the presence of a municipal utility) and environmental
concern (measured by the share of green party votes) are positively associated
with municipal PV adoption. Economic factors (measured by solar irradiation)
show a significant positive but small effect in both regression models. No
evidence was found to support the influence of political will. Results for the
role of municipal characteristics are mixed, although the population size was
consistently positively associated with municipal PV adoption and installed
capacity. Our results support previous studies on PV system adoption
determinants and offer a starting point for additional research on
non-residential decision-making and PV adoption.
