Cognition process and influencing factors of rural residents' adoption willingness for solar PV poverty alleviation projects: evidence from a mixed methodology in rural China

The photovoltaic poverty alleviation project (PV-PAP) is an innovative policy for renewable energy diffusion and sustainable development achievement in China. However, there is a lack of research on the public support and cognitive process of PV-PAPs, and motivations and influencing mechanisms of rural residents' willingness to adopt PV-PAPs still need to be further explored. Based on coding technique of grounded theory, principal component analysis, and stepwise multiple linear regression methods, this research explored rural residents' cognition of PV-PAPs as well as quantitatively verified the relationship between the key factors and their adoption willingness. Results show that rural residents have different cognitions of PV-PAPs, the composition of the cognitive element collection is the fundamental reason for the difference of individual degree of knowledge. Their cognitive process of PV-PAPs consists of three stages, namely information acquisition, perceived acceptance, and cognitive processing, during which the cognitive elements will change up to twice. Significant peer effects are found in promoting PV-PAPs. Perceived cost-benefit, degree of knowledge, external environmental influence, interpersonal interaction, and demonstration of others have highly significant positive impacts on residents' willingness to adopt PV-PAPs. Finally, recommendations are proposed to facilitate the promotion of PV-PAPs in rural areas.