In 2014, China announced an ambitious plan to help alleviate rural poverty through deploying distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in poor areas. The solar energy for poverty alleviation programme (SEPAP) aims to add over 10 GW capacity and benefit more than 2 million households from around 35,000 villages across the country by 2020.
On the basis of these explorations, Li, Zhang [ 34 ], and Xie [ 35] hold that solar PV has great potential to power a sustainable future for China's rural poor. More recently, Solar PV poverty alleviation program has become a national energy policy for poverty alleviation and achieved remarkable performances in China [7, 36 ].
Qinghai province is one of the examples in China where impoverished villages have been pulled out of poverty by launching solar power projects. Yangjiashan village in Ledu district of Haidong city, Qinghai province, has installed more than 100,000 solar panels on top of the mountains to generate power.
The solar energy for poverty alleviation program (SEPAP) in China aims to add over 10 GW of solar capacity to benefit over 2 million citizens by 2020 4.
More recently, Solar PV poverty alleviation program has become a national energy policy for poverty alleviation and achieved remarkable performances in China [7, 36 ]. China's solar PV poverty alleviation program has received high political priority from the central government.
Since 2014, the country has formulated relevant plans, introduced fiscal, financial and pricing policies, strengthened power grid building and operation services, and promoted various solar PV poverty alleviation projects funded by the government and implemented by aiding enterprises.