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Page 2 of 17 Zhen et al. Carbon Footprints 2024;3:7 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2023.50

activities. Local village officials should take the lead in spearheading policy promotion activities to enhance
villagers’ awareness and enthusiasm. Besides, efforts should be directed towards guaranteeing the availability of
high-quality distributed PV systems with consistent standards.

Keywords: Distributed photovoltaic system, rural households, face-to-face survey, policy implication, Shandong
Province

INTRODUCTION
The escalating climate change crisis has underscored the urgency of developing renewable energy, such as
[1]
photovoltaics . Among various photovoltaic technologies, the distributed photovoltaic system (distributed
PV) is a promising solution . Compared to the centralized photovoltaic system, the distributed PV offers
[2,3]
[4]
several distinct advantages, including lower investment costs and reduced strain on the local grids .
Consequently, distributed PV has been recognized as a crucial way to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate
[5]
Agreement . Germany, for instance, implemented the Renewable Energy Sources Act in 2000, which
[6]
included national subsidies to support the adoption of distributed PV . The US and Japan have adopted
similar subsidy policies to bolster the expansion of distributed PV .
[7]
The Chinese government has placed significant emphasis on developing distributed PV in its rural areas,
where substantial rooftops and solar resources are available . It is estimated that if distributed PV was
[8]
universally applied in all rural households, these systems could provide up to 1.55 times China’s annual
electricity demand for non-production purposes . In addition to the benefits of distributed PV in reducing
[9]
carbon emissions, China regards it as an effective means to increase household income through electricity
sales. Both the Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation projects and the Rural Revitalization Strategy have
[10]
highlighted the importance of promoting distributed PV in rural areas , and considerable subsidies have
been provided to support the adoption of distributed PV, leading to a rapid increase in installed capacity
across rural China [11,12] . In 2022, the growth in distributed PV reached 51.11 million kilowatts in China,
accounting for 58.5% of the country’s newly added photovoltaic capacity .
[13]
However, several challenges arise when advancing distributed PV in China’s rural areas. The high
installation costs and extended payback periods have limited rural residents’ willingness to adopt such
photovoltaic equipment . This problem has also been observed in other countries, such as the United
[14]
[15]
States and Ireland . Moreover, various cooperation modes exist in distributed PV adoption, which may
[16]
inevitably bring obstacles to balancing the interests of different stakeholders and eventually influence the
installation of such photovoltaic systems in rural China [17,18] . Previous efforts for promoting distributed PV
[19]
in rural China mainly rely on governmental subsidies , while scant attention has been paid to measures
through community relations and other socioeconomic factors [20,21] . Consequently, more comprehensive
strategies are required to foster the development of distributed PV in China’s rural areas .
[22]
Existing studies have investigated the influence of many factors on the installation of distributed PV, such as
household characteristics, income level, environmental awareness, technique features, socioeconomic status,
and policy incentives [22-24] . For example, Sommerfeld et al. investigated the influence of demographic
variables on distributed PV adoption, indicating that home ownership was a major influencing factor .
[25]
Kurata et al. focused on the demographic and socioeconomic factors affecting family adoption of
photovoltaic systems, and they confirmed that household income positively influenced their decision on
distributed PV adoption, while the presence of a smoker had a negative impact . In the context of
[26]
Tehran, Bashiri and Alizadeh found that environmental concerns and related knowledge positively
[27]