Energy services for solar PV projects: Exploring the accessibility and affordability of clean energy for rural China

Jing Liu, Jiantuan Hu, Qing Wan, Junren Ming and Chuanmin Shuai

Energy, 2024, vol. 299, issue C

Abstract: China's rural solar photovoltaic projects (SPVPs), as an innovative initiative to improve livelihoods through clean energy, have played a positive role in poverty reduction. However, whether this measure can enhance energy services for rural families remains unconfirmed. This paper employs a quasi-experimental method from the perspectives of energy service accessibility and affordability to quantify the net contribution of China's rural SPVPs to enhancing family energy services. The results indicate: (1) SPVPs can significantly improve family energy services, with a net effect of 14.7 % on the energy service accessibility and a net effect of 44.5 % on the energy service affordability. (2) SPVPs can increase the energy consumption capacity, energy supply capacity and energy equipment utilization rate by 2.6 %, 7.1 % and 5 %, respectively. Furthermore, these initiatives can effectively slash the energy costs of rural families by 4.3 %, bolster the energy access affordability by 3.9 %, and catapult energy investments by an impressive 44.9 %. (3) These projects also perform well in the family energy consumption cleanliness. (4) The effect of SPVPs in providing energy services presents a regional difference, with the best performance observed in ‘Type III’ solar resource areas. Meanwhile, the implementation of China's rural SPVPs does not involve “elite capture.”

Keywords: Solar photovoltaic projects (SPVPs); Energy service accessibility; Energy service affordability; Clean energy; Rural China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:299:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224012155

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.131442

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