Analysis of the regulatory effectiveness of different international regions to enable the participation of residential self-producers

Abstract

Introduction. There is a need to establish more appropriate regulations that increase the effectiveness and incentive for self-producers to participate in the Honduran energy market. This research aimed to contribute to the discussion of effective regulatory frameworks that inform the current proposed technical standard. Methods. The study employed a non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional design and used benchmarking as its primary tool. The annual installed capacity trajectories of California in the United States, the Northern Territory in Australia, and Costa Rica were analyzed. Benchmarking was performed against pre-established parameters. The annual installed capacity curves were normalized to the annual populations of each of the first three regions to compare their per capita installed capacities. Results. Of all the regions analyzed, the inhabitants of the Northern Territory of Australia had the greatest access to photovoltaic installed capacity due to the maximum height of their Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and its consistency over the years. This granted them a larger volume of energy to sell on the local energy market. Conclusion: A 1:1 maximum height tariff increased installed capacity, while adopting a capacity restriction slows the participation of self-producers.