Background: Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Projects (PPAPs) have been implemented in Chinese rural areas since 2014. As a new energy policy, PPAPs have played an important role in alleviating rural poverty. However, the adoption of solar PV faces multiple barriers from the perspective of beneficiaries. Therefore, this study aims to discuss and analyze factors affecting beneficiaries’ satisfaction and their trust in State Grid, promoting the adoption of solar PV. Methods: Based on the integrated American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and Unified Theory of Acception and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, this study used the Structural Equation Model (SEM) to reveal how the beneficiaries’ satisfaction enhance their trust in State Grid. The data were obtained from a survey of 928 PPAPs’ beneficiaries by stratified and random sampling in Chinese rural areas. Results: The results confirm that environmental perception in this study has positive impact on beneficiaries’ satisfaction. In addition, perceived quality also has a positive effect on beneficiaries’ satisfaction and trust in State Grid; however, social influence has a negative impact on beneficiaries’ satisfaction; behavior expectation can directly promote beneficiaries’ satisfaction while indirectly propel their trust in State Grid. Conclusions: This study constructs an integrated customer satisfaction model from the perspective of beneficiaries and proposes relevant measures to promote the adoption of solar PV that can be applied to poverty reduction in other developing countries worldwide.

This paper investigates local residents’ expectations of the Chinese government subsidies on solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation. Residents’ demographics including age, educational attainment, income level, gender, and employment fields are analyzed based on a survey study in Wuhan, China. Results of the regression analysis on the influence of demographic variables on residents’ expectations indicate that: (1) residents with different demographics have significantly different expectations of the Chinese government subsidies for adopting PV power generation facilities; (2) income, education attainment, and residents’ employment fields have a significant impact on their expectations of government subsidies. With these findings, this paper concludes with useful policy implications.

This paper reports on the application of the GTAP 8.0 model to simulate the potential effects of carbon tariffs to reduce global emissions in the agricultural sector. The results indicate that: (i) carbon tariffs could facilitate a reduction in global carbon leakage for all countries (regions) except those in the EU; (ii) the structural effects of emissions reduction reflect the differences in economic structure, energy efficiency and energy-saving and emissions reduction potential among different countries (regions); and (iii) carbon tariffs have complex effects on emissions reduction in the global agri-sector. Whilst agriculture in developed countries could achieve emissions reduction, the rest of the world, and developing countries in particular, will have slight increases in carbon emissions in agriculture.