How do photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects relieve household energy poverty? Evidence from China

Energy poverty is a serious problem worldwide and has attracted the attention of policymakers. As a type of social welfare project, photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects (PPAPs) are expected to achieve high-quality poverty alleviation and an energy transformation in China. By the end of 2019, in China, the task of PPAP construction had been fully completed, with 26.36 million kWh of (PV) photovoltaic power plants having been built and 4.15 million households benefitting. This paper aims to explore the effect of PPAPs on energy poverty alleviation in poor areas. Based on 2010–2018 panel data from a tracking survey, this paper adopts a high-dimensional fixed effect model and finds that PPAPs reduced household energy poverty by 6.32%. Specifically, the mechanism included promoting the diversification of household energy sources and improving the disposable income of residents. Furthermore, the policy effect was more significant in regions with greater sunlight resource endowments. The findings of this paper provide implications for developing countries facing similar difficulties in improving people's livelihoods and in promoting sustainable development.