Determinants of rural household clean energy adoption intention: Evidence from 72 typical villages in ecologically fragile regions of western China

Encouraging efficient use of clean energy by farmers is central to promoting energy transformation in ecologically fragile regions of western China. However, existing research has not yet characterized the influencing factors and internal mechanism of farmers’ clean energy adoption intention, which lead to the problem of misalignment in clean energy-promotion policies. In this study, 72 typical villages in three ecologically fragile loess, alpine, and karst areas in western China were targeted for research. Combining the theory of planned behavior with social cognition, a research model was constructed from the perspective of “external factors-internal psychology-adoption intention.” Then, 645 valid questionnaires were empirically analyzed by structural equation and hierarchical regression. The results show that psychological factors create multiple parallel mediating effects between energy attribute factors and adoption intention, and herd mentality is a crucial factor of farmers' clean energy adoption intention. Command-and-control policy instruments have a partial reverse moderating effect, while economic incentives and publicity and guidance policy instruments have positive moderating effects on the relationship between psychological factors and adoption intention. The results are helpful for policymakers seeking to implement effective measures to guide farmers in ecologically fragile regions of western China toward large scale use of clean energy.