Factors influencing adoption of off-grid community-based solar photovoltaics in Chikwawa district, Malawi

Abstract

As there are limited opportunities for grid expansion in developing countries whose populations are growing and demand for energy increasing, rural electrification is slowly being achieved through use of off-grid technologies. Community solar photovoltaics (CSPVs) are being seen as the means through which off-grid electrification can be diffused to rural areas. The purpose of this study was to determine and analyse factors that influence adoption of CSPVs in Chikwawa, Malawi. A sample of 309 respondents was drawn from 5 communities where CSPVs had been installed to collect quantitative data using a Likert-type questionnaire on the five attributes that influence adoption in Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation Model: relative advantage, trialability, compatibility, observability and complexity. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews and desk research provided insights into the CSPV market and project policies. The study found that adoption of CSPVs in Chikwawa was facilitated by relative advantages derived from using the CSPV, compatibility with their occupations and social norms and observability effects. It is concluded that a rural CSPV adoption strategy that uses Roger’s Model is modulated by gender and occupational differences of the target market in perceiving the attributes that influence relative advantage, observation and compatibility. It is therefore recommended that CSPV adoption strategies should include rural market segmentation in gender and occupational lines