Diffusion of decentralized renewable energy systems among households: Policy inferences from a survey in India

In this study, results of a survey of adopter and neighborhood non-adopter households have been presented that-captures their experiences and/or perspectives regarding decentralized renewable energy systems. Results indicate that the source of awareness varies significantly with respect to the technology and its geographical-area of application. In addition, it has been found that the barriers critical to the diffusion of decentralized-renewable energy systems manifest itself differently among adopters and non-adopters. Additionally, criticality-of barriers has been found to vary with the technology of decentralized renewable energy systems. The study also-highlights that satisfied adopters of decentralized renewable energy systems often promote it and hence presents-a strong case to focus on early adopters. By facilitating easy access to effective after sales services for repair and-maintenance, early adopters can be converted into promoters of decentralized renewable energy systems.