The role of socio-Culture in the solar power adoption: The inability to reach government policies of marginalized groups

Abstract

Renewable energy is one of the key policies of many developing countries to strengthen rural people's access to electricity and not connect to the national grid. However, the determination of the decision to accept renewable energy technologies still lacks a clear understanding. Estimating a cross-sectional survey, this study analyzed the impact of the ethnic-caste factor on the adoption of solar power technology in Nepal. The results reveal that Dalit and Madhesi households that are the lowest caste and marginalized ethnic group within Nepal society were about 36.3% and 79.8% less likely to adopt solar power technology compared to the high caste households, respectively. Using propensity score matching to deal with bias and inconsistent estimates, the results confirm the impact of the ethnic-caste system on solar power technology adoption. The findings reflect that aside from the economic variables that play a role in determining the adoption of renewable energy technologies, social and cultural factors are also significant. The main policy implication is that policymakers should consider a holistic approach to renewable energy policy design, especially the socio-cultural factor priorities, to increase the opportunities for government policy access among marginalized groups.