What factors determine the adoption of solar home systems? Empirical evidence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan relies almost entirely on fossil fuels, producing significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that pose a serious threat to the ecosystem, particularly by contributing to global warming. Mitigating these effects requires a strong emphasis on the adoption of renewable energy sources. Prioritizing renewable energy sources not only reduces environmental harm but also helps bridge the gap between energy demand and supply, which continuously pushes a large portion of the population into energy poverty. This brings us to our principal questions: What are the determinant factors in the adoption of Solar Home Systems (SHS), and what problems are being faced by current users? To answer these questions, we surveyed 300 households through face-to-face interviews in two selected villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. We employed the binary logistic regression model and frequency distributions coupled with percentages. The binary logistic regression results were found significant (χ² (9) = 224.3 and P = 0.000) with the non-significant value (P = 0.290 > 0.05) of the Hosmer and Lemeshow test. Age and gender of the respondents have a negative influence on SHS adoption. In contrast, factors that positively impact adoption include education, income, family size, the cost-effectiveness of SHS compared to other alternatives, knowledge of SHS initial costs, knowledge of its operation and maintenance, and knowledge of its potential compared to other renewable energy sources. Despite the benefits of SHS, users face several challenges. The most significant issues include solar panel breakage due to strong winds, a lack of training opportunities for sustainable SHS use, higher-than-expected operational costs, and limited access to technical experts for troubleshooting. Additionally, we examined SHS users’ willingness to expand the capacity of their SHS in the future. The findings indicate that while households express interest in expansion, financial constraints limit their ability to scale up SHS capacity. SHS can be considered as a smart strategy in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as the SDG 7 (emphasizing affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (climate action). This research serves as a baseline study, providing stakeholders the awareness related to the factors affecting SHS adoption. This research suggests that the government should work intensively on renewable energy promotion, including SHS to deal with the power shortage and the growing climate changes in the country. They should work closely with different organizations and companies providing quality SHS through public–private partnerships. The introduction of government subsidies, enhancing technical support and focusing on capacity building will attract widespread adoption of SHS. Moreover, regulatory and policy measures should be taken by allowing excess solar energy from SHS to be fed into the national grid (net metering) and ensuring fair pricing.