# Eric O’Shaughnessy
Eric O’Shaughnessy is a renewable energy researcher who works on the econometric analysis of distributed energy resource and voluntary green power markets, with a focus on who adopts rooftop and community solar in the United States.[1](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy) He has been an independent research consultant since leaving the [National Renewable Energy Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-renewable-energy-laboratory) (NREL) in 2019.[2](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/) His peer-reviewed studies in *Nature Energy* address income equity in solar adoption, community solar, and the effect of residential solar on energy insecurity.[4](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00724-2) • [5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01546-2) • [6](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01730-y)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Econometric analysis of distributed energy resource and voluntary green power markets[1](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy) |
| PhD | Environment and Resources, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison (began 2016)[1](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy) • [2](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/) |
| Consultancy | Independent research analyst since March 2019, under contract with NREL, LBNL, and the World Resources Institute[2](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/) • [3](https://cleankws.com/about-1) |
| Signature work | "The effect of residential solar on energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households", *Nature Energy*, 2025[6](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01730-y) |
## Education and early career
O’Shaughnessy received his PhD in [Environment](https://www.edgepedia.org/environment) and Resources from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the [University of Wisconsin–Madison](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-wisconsin-madison).[1](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy) He also holds an M.P.A. from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW–Madison and a B.S. in Environmental Economics and Policy from [Michigan State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/michigan-state-university).[1](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy)
The doctorate grew out of his work at NREL. A year into his job at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Prof. Greg Nemet of UW–Madison convinced him to turn his research into a PhD, which he began through the Nelson Institute in 2016.[2](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/) His dissertation studied how market structure and solar installer competition affect prices and ultimately solar system deployment.[2](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/)
## National laboratory career
O’Shaughnessy spent roughly a decade at NREL before leaving in 2019. As of a 2024 *Joule* publication he had been leading research on the United States voluntary renewable energy market for a decade, alongside his econometric work on distributed energy resource markets.[7](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(24)00287-3)
## Representative work
His signature paper, "The effect of residential solar on energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households" (*Nature Energy*, 2025), used a national matched sample of solar and non-solar households built from detailed, address-specific data. It found that solar leads to large, robust, and salient reductions in five indicators of energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households, and that the benefits of solar "spill over" to improve a household's ability to pay other energy bills.[6](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01730-y) Government and laboratory records date the article to 5 March 2025 and to 1 May 2025 in *Nature Energy* 10(5):569–580, respectively; the two records disagree.[8](https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2530329) • [9](https://profiles.lbl.gov/86317-eric-o'shaughnessy/publications)
His earlier *Nature Energy* work established the equity questions this line of research addresses. The 2020 paper "The impact of policies and business models on income equity in rooftop solar adoption" examined why low- and moderate-income households in the United States are less likely to adopt rooftop solar than higher-income households, a dynamic that can decelerate rooftop PV deployment.[4](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00724-2)
## Independent consultancy
He works under contract with NREL, the [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-berkeley-national-laboratory), and the [World Resources Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-resources-institute).[2](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/) • [3](https://cleankws.com/about-1) His LBNL profile describes his research focus as econometric analysis of distributed energy resource and voluntary green power markets.[1](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy)
## Recent developments
Two *Nature Energy* publications in 2024 and 2025 extended his equity research from rooftop solar to community solar and to energy outcomes. The 2024 study "Evaluating community solar as a measure to promote equitable clean energy access", with O’Shaughnessy as corresponding author, compared community solar adopters with rooftop solar adopters across a sample of 11 states. Community solar adopters were about 6.1 times more likely to live in multifamily buildings, 4.4 times more likely to rent, and earned about 23% less annual income.[5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01546-2) • [9](https://profiles.lbl.gov/86317-eric-o'shaughnessy/publications) The study did not find that community solar expands access in terms of race: rooftop solar adopters were about twice as likely as community solar adopters to identify as Asian or Black and about three times as likely to identify as Hispanic.[5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01546-2)
The accompanying LBNL analysis attributed the differences roughly evenly between the two products' inherent characteristics and policy. Policy explained about 67% of the income differences between community and rooftop adopters, 43% of the differences in housing tenure, and 23% of the differences in housing type.[5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01546-2) • [10](https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/comm_solar_access_6_18.pdf) It found no evidence that community solar inherently promotes access among households of color or Hispanic households, though low- and moderate-income policies appear to promote community solar adoption among racial minorities.[10](https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/comm_solar_access_6_18.pdf) The 2025 energy insecurity study then shifted the question from who adopts solar to what solar does for the households that adopt it.[6](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01730-y)
## References
1. [Eric O'Shaughnessy | Energy Analysis Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory](https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/people/eric-oshaughnessy)
2. [O'Shaughnessy, Eric – Energy Analysis and Policy – UW–Madison](https://eap.wisc.edu/people/oshaughnessy-eric/)
3. [About – Clean Kilowatts, LLC](https://cleankws.com/about-1)
4. [The impact of policies and business models on income equity in rooftop solar adoption (Nature Energy, 2020)](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00724-2)
5. [Evaluating community solar as a measure to promote equitable clean energy access (Nature Energy, 2024)](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01546-2)
6. [The effect of residential solar on energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households (Nature Energy, 2025)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01730-y)
7. https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(24)00287-3
8. [The effect of residential solar on energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households (OSTI record)](https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2530329)
9. [Eric O'Shaughnessy | Publications | Lawrence Berkeley National Lab](https://profiles.lbl.gov/86317-eric-o'shaughnessy/publications)
10. [Evaluating community solar as a measure to expand equitable clean energy access (LBNL presentation, June 2024)](https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/comm_solar_access_6_18.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Social and behavioral scientists › Development and environmental economists*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
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