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Zhen et al. Carbon Footprints 2024;3:7 Carbon Footprints
DOI: 10.20517/cf.2023.50

Original Article Open Access

Distributed photovoltaic adoption in rural Shandong,

China: status, challenges, and influential factors

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Zheng Zhen , Pengfei Zhang 2 , Jiaxing Cao , Fan Su , Lu Tong , Yue Qi , Yuankang Li , Wendong Wei 5,7
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College of Smart Energy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
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Institute of Blue and Green Development, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, Shandong, China.
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School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China.
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School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
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Research Center, State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, Beijing 100053, China.
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SJTU-UNIDO Joint Institute of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai
200030, China.
Correspondence to: Dr. Pengfei Zhang, Institute of Blue and Green Development, Shandong University, No. 180, Wenhua West
Road, Weihai 264209, Shandong, China. E-mail: 202120993@mail.sdu.edu.cn; Dr. Wendong Wei, School of Environmental
Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 800, Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China. E-mail:
wendongwei@sjtu.edu.cn
How to cite this article: Zhen Z, Zhang P, Cao J, Su F, Tong L, Qi Y, Li Y, Wei W. Distributed photovoltaic adoption in rural
Shandong, China: status, challenges, and influential factors. Carbon Footprints 2024;3:7. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2023.50
Received: 16 Oct 2023 First Decision: 24 Jan 2024 Revised: 1 Feb 2024 Accepted: 8 Feb 2024 Published: 12 Mar 2024
Academic Editor: Muhammad Shafique Copy Editor: Fangyuan Liu Production Editor: Fangyuan Liu
Abstract
Distributed photovoltaic systems (distributed PV) enable rural households to replace traditional energy sources,
reduce their household carbon footprint, and generate additional income. Due to the multiple benefits, China
increasingly prioritizes developing distributed PV in its rural areas. However, the overall status, primary challenges
of distributed PV in rural China, and how regional social and economic factors contribute to adoption choices of
distributed PV remain largely uninvestigated. Here, we aim to provide insights into the above issues and offer a
basis for policy recommendations that can facilitate the adoption of distributed PV, drawing from Shandong
Province’s experience. This study is based on a survey conducted in 2023, encompassing a total of 169 households
across 36 villages in Shandong Province. Our results show that 43% of the households have embraced distributed
PV with various system standards employed. We also find that rural households in Shandong Province encounter
challenges engaging in distributed PV systems, such as inadequate policy support, significant heterogeneity of
policy promotion among villages, a predominant emphasis on construction rather than management, and an
extended payback period. We suggest that future attention should be paid to households that have not
experienced extreme weather events and those that have not yet engaged in related low-carbon environmental

© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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