Farmers’ attitudes and adoption preferences toward household solar photovoltaics: A survey from Guangdong Province in China

The promotion of solar photovoltaics in rural areas is of great importance in rural revitalization and the achievement of double carbon goals in China, but the adoption rate is low. This study aims to understand farmers' attitudes and adoption preferences toward household solar photovoltaics (HSPV), and identify factors on HSPV promotions. The data is collected from a field survey in Pingyuan County, Guangdong Province, both logit and ordered logit regression models, and one-way analyses of variances are used to analyze the data. The results indicate that farmers hold positive evaluations on the potential benefits of adopting HSPV, while they also exhibit concerns about uncertainties associated with generation capacity and maintenance costs. Pro-environmental behavior and an improved market environment can significantly strengthen farmers’ adoption intention, while perceived risk weakens their willingness. Besides, most farmers prefer an adoption mode of roof leasing, a short payback year, and a low willingness to pay. Improving the equipment quality and market environment, and reducing benefit-cost uncertainties are critical strategies to accelerate rural photovoltaic promotions.