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Background When renewable policies are in place, the mismatch between policy targets and lack of technology diffusion indicates a gap between codifying a policy and implementing it. In Switzerland, photovoltaic (PV) electricity is seen to play a major role in the future. Stakeholders' opinions in the implementation of photovoltaic projects may block or delay the achievement of renewable policy goals. This paper explores the question: which are the main drivers and risks perceived by stakeholders at different levels of the government in the implementation of a pilot PV project? Methods We study a decision-making process of a pilot project in the Swiss Alps to figure out which determinants explain the public opposition to such implementation. We study five types of determinants of public acceptance: economy, technology, environment, social aspects, and the policy process. We use Q methodology, which is especially suited to determine the different interests of stakeholders' groups. Results Our results show four different perspectives: "Mainstream proponents," "Ecologically wary," "Worried about implementation," and "Looking for cantonal and national backing." The results indicate that the photovoltaics' acceptance was highly driven by the potential contribution of the project to the regional economy. However, economy and technology determinants elicited both the highest and the lowest statistical consensus among perspectives (z-score). Our results point out the important role of initiators to maintain trust during the decision-making process. Finally, stakeholders in the photovoltaic project wanted to have fluent access to concrete information about the project and its future plans. Conclusions Most of the implementation risks observed are determinants of acceptance related to economic aspects and the policy process. Characteristics of the decision-making process, such as trust during the process, affect the perceived outcomes of the project. Aspects of the decision-making process may, therefore, turn into risks for the project's implementation. Results also suggest that techno-economic assessments are key drivers to fostering energy transitions, but they are not sufficient in themselves. Initiators have to consider enhancing communication since the early steps of the policy process, the intelligence and promotion phases to avoid implementation risks. ; ISSN:2192-0567

This paper investigates the effect of borrowing constraints on the pricing of solar home system loans for rural households. We use a unique cross-sectional dataset that includes a sample of 626,761 borrowers' loan transactions over six years (2013–2018) from the market-based solar home system program in Bangladesh. We estimate that a 10 percent increase in down payment, which we use as a proxy measure for borrowing constraints, reduces the average total cost of the loan by 0.181 percentage points. We also find that highly constrained borrowers pay more than relatively unconstrained borrowers, with average total costs of loans reduced by 0.102 and 0.343 percentage points, respectively, for every 10 percent increase in down payments. The borrowing constraint seems to generate distributional inequality in the pro-poor solar home system program, increasing the financial cost of market participation for these highly constrained borrowers. Constrained borrowers in poor rural areas therefore pay a poverty penalty. We recommend that governments, policymakers, and development donors deploy targeted intervention mechanisms that continue and update financial support for both lenders and borrowers in order to eradicate persistent energy poverty in developing countries. ; ISSN:0140-9883 ; ISSN:1873-6181

The energy transition in Switzerland, as in many other countries, aims to increase the proportion of electricity produced using renewable energy technologies. In this context, governmental agencies and other institutions have attempted to communicate the implications of (domestic) electricity systems through the use of web-based and interactive decision support systems (DSSs). Studies show that, when no additional information is provided, preferences concerning the future electricity mix are mainly driven by the affective reactions that energy technologies evoke. A question remains, however, regarding how people engage with the information provided in a DSS, as well as whether such information is influential in terms of shaping people's choices. We asked our participants to build an electricity portfolio using a DSS, which modeled the Swiss electricity system. The participants' political orientation and their affective reactions to different energy technologies guided their information search, as well as the choice of energy technologies within their portfolio. The attention paid to the information provided was not directly related to the participants' portfolio choices. The selective processing of information, which was based on the participants' prior attitudes, suggests that they target information they are already familiar with in the DSS. However, this also illustrates a caveat previously identified in motivated political reasoning, since selective information processing, together with the tendency to disconfirm information that is incongruent with prior beliefs, can lead to the polarization of previously held views. As the information provided through the DSS we tested was unable to change the participants' affective-cognitive evaluation of energy technologies, its use should be carefully considered in light of the possible effects of consolidating existing beliefs.

Identifying the risks that could impact a low-carbon transition is a prerequisite to assessing and managing these risks. We systematically characterise risks associated with decarbonisation pathways in fifteen case studies conducted in twelve countries around the world. We find that stakeholders from business, government, NGOs, and others supplied some 40 % of these risk inputs, significantly widening the scope of risks considered by academics and experts. Overall, experts and academics consider more economic risks and assess these with quantitative methods and models, while other stakeholders consider political risks more. To avoid losing sight of risks that cannot be easily quantified and modelled, including some economic risks, impact assessment modelling should be complemented with qualitative research and active stakeholder engagement. A systematic risk elicitation facilitates communication with stakeholders, enables better risk mitigation, and increases the chance of a sustainable transition. ; This work was part of the TRANSrisk project (see http://transrisk-project.eu) and funded by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme of the European Union, grant agreement no. 642260; the research was also supported by the H2020 European Commission Project "PARIS REINFORCE", under grant Agreement No. 820846. The sole responsibility for the content of this paper lies with the authors; the paper does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission. The authors express their thanks to the case study leaders and researchers, especially Gabriel Bachner, Brigitte Wolkinger, Luis Virla Alvarado, Paula Díaz, Leonhard Späth, Christiane Plum, Song Lei, Chen Ying, Cynthia Ismail, Takeshi Takama, Xaquín García-Muros, Tim Suljada, Oliver Johnson, Rocio Alvarez, Annela Anger-Kraavi, Katerina Foruli, Sotiris Papadelis, Serafeim Michas, Duke Ghosh, Krisztina Szendrei, Björn Nykvist, and Luis Gonzalez.

Identifying the risks that could impact a low-carbon transition is a prerequisite to assessing and managing these risks. We systematically characterise risks associated with decarbonisation pathways in fifteen case studies conducted in twelve countries around the world. We find that stakeholders from business, government, NGOs, and others supplied some 40 % of these risk inputs, significantly widening the scope of risks considered by academics and experts. Overall, experts and academics consider more economic risks and assess these with quantitative methods and models, while other stakeholders consider political risks more. To avoid losing sight of risks that cannot be easily quantified and modelled, including some economic risks, impact assessment modelling should be complemented with qualitative research and active stakeholder engagement. A systematic risk elicitation facilitates communication with stakeholders, enables better risk mitigation, and increases the chance of a sustainable transition. ; ISSN:2210-4224