Heguan Village Photovoltaic Panels

Does community management influence household adoption of rooftop solar photovoltaics in rural China?

This paper examines inequality in household adoption of rooftop solar photovoltaics in rural China through a qualitative study of three villages. The Chinese government promotes distributed solar to drive low-carbon development. However, community management and China’s institutional system influence unequal access.

Can solar photovoltaic projects help alleviate poverty in rural areas?

Nature Communications 11, Article number: 1969 (2020) Cite this article Since 2013, China has implemented a large-scale initiative to systematically deploy solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to alleviate poverty in rural areas.

How does SEPAP support solar installations in high-poverty rural villages?

SEPAP supports solar installations in high-poverty rural villages through three primary types of projects: village-level arrays (for projects generally no more than 300 kW), village-level joint construction arrays (for projects generally no more than 6000 kW), and rooftop installations targeted toward poor villagers (typically several kW).

Should village transformer capacity be increased?

In addition, the village transformer capacity puts limits on how many households can install panels and the system sizes. Usually, only about 30% of households can adopt PV. To increase that percentage, the village would need to expand transformer capacity. The costs of that expansion get divided up and paid by later adopters.

Do villagers have a role in photovoltaic negotiations?

From a procedural justice standpoint, the village committee acts as an agent negotiating with photovoltaic enterprises while villagers participate limitedly (e.g., voting at meetings). Regarding pricing roof resources and determining cooperation specifics, villagers’ absence in negotiations diminishes the fairness of the process.

Do local authorities play a role in household rooftop photovoltaic adoption?

The research revealed salient geographic disparities in household rooftop photovoltaic adoption, closely associated with the role of local authorities (particularly village committees) in new energy promotion schemes.