Applying an extended theory of planned behavior to predict willingness to pay for green and low-carbon energy transition

Green and low-carbon energy transition (GALCET) is essential for achieving carbon neutrality and promoting sustainable social development. Retrofitting rooftops with solar photovoltaic tiles (SPVT) is a new solution for promoting rural GALCET, which has great potential. However, whether the public supports this initiative is not well understood. This study investigates rural households' (in the Shandong province, China) willingness to pay (WTP) for retrofitting rooftops with SPVT to promote the GALCET and determines the WTP drivers. To better predict the WTP, three variables-moral perception (MP), policy perception (PP), and perception of personal interest (POPI)-were added to the traditional theory of planned behavior (TPB). The results show that MP, PP, and POPI could predict WTP well, with POPI being the most decisive predictor. The demographic variables of income, education, and age also affected WTP. The mean WTP was 133.55 CNY (18.57USD) per month. Remarkably, the expanded TPB model has a 12% increase in predictive power over the TPB model without additional variables. We believe that developing appropriate incentives to increase the public's POPI and improved policy advocacy related to GALCET and its moral implications may help promote GALCET and sustainable social development.