Photovoltaic panels in Sanduan Village

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 photovoltaics help alleviate rural poverty?

Research is central to the success of major photovoltaic programmes in ramping up clean energy and alleviating rural poverty. A house in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province, where rooftops are being used to generate solar power. Credit: Lingqi Xie/Getty

Can solar photovoltaic gardens be combined with agricultural production & ecosystem services?

An innovative approach to combine solar photovoltaic gardens with agricultural production and ecosystem services. Ecosyst. Serv. 56, 101450. doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101450 Shen, W., He, J. J., and Yao, S. H. (2021). Green industrial policy in the post grid parity era: governing integrated Solar + projects in China.

What is a distributed photovoltaic system?

Unlike large solar farms, distributed photovoltaic systems — often built on rooftops — are intended to generate power for local use. Electricity generated through photovoltaic panels can be consumed on-site by houses and factories, for example, or loaded onto the local grid to be distributed throughout the region.

Should PV farms be built in deserts?

Besides, the construction of PV farms in deserts can improve the utilization rate of degraded land and enable the spatial coexistence of PV with other industries, such as farming and livestock raising (Yan et al., 2007; Marco et al., 2014).

Do community-level support and household resources affect photovoltaic adoption?

We find that structural opportunities provided by communities and households’ own resource endowments have an additive effect on adoption. This highlights the need to consider both community-level support and household resources when evaluating photovoltaic adoption and energy justice.