"Generating electricity from renewable sources is more expensive than conventional approaches, but reduces pollution externalities. Analyzing the tradeoff is much more challenging than often presumed, because the value of electricity is extremely dependent on the time and location at which it is...

"This paper develops an empirical approach to estimate the equilibrium value of renewable electricity technologies, and applies it to evaluate solar energy mandates in southeastern Arizona. Solar generation and other renewables suffer from intermittency because weather varies and is only...