Opinion leadership and willingness to pay for residential photovoltaic systems

• Interpersonal communication about the adoption of PV systems is analyzed.
• A questionnaire survey is conducted.
• Opinion leaders on PV-system adoption are identified.
• A relationship is confirmed between willingness to pay and opinion leadership.
• Subsidization is more essential than feed-in tariffs from this point of view.

According to diffusion theory, opinion leaders play an important role in the diffusion of new technologies through interpersonal communication with potential adopters. This study investigates the role and utility of opinion leadership in photovoltaic (PV) system diffusion. Specifically, the study proposes, examines, and considers the implications of the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between willingness to pay (WTP) for a PV system and opinion leadership on PV-system adoption. The investigation employed an internet-based questionnaire to assess the use of interpersonal communication in decision-making on adoption, to identify opinion leaders on adoption, and to characterize their WTP. The response pool consisted of 488 individuals who lived in a detached house, owned a residential PV system, and were responsible for making the decision to adopt the system. The results support the hypothesis. Considering that subsidization preferentially incentivizes households with greater WTP to adopt PV systems, this suggests that subsidization is more effective than purchases of PV power under feed-in tariffs in promoting the diffusion of residential PV systems through interpersonal communication.