Factors Affecting the Development of Photovoltaic Technology Diffusion in Decentralized Electricity Generation in Iran

Although Iran has a suitable position in terms of solar energy resources, but its use has been limited due to the richness of fossil fuels and low energy prices in Iran. Therefore, formulating effective strategies and policies to improve the level of development and diffusion of this technology is very important. In this study, all the various factors were identified from a comprehensive review of the experiences presented in the literature related to the subject, including 142 influential factors. Then, all these factors were divided and "prioritized" through "semi-structured interviews" with the opinions of 15 energy experts, especially according to the conditions of Iran. Content analysis of experts opinions showed that 55 factors out of the total factors are important for Iran in the "level of influence of energy policymakers". These factors divided to 9 general factors, including "policy", "institutional", "budget", "economic" (system economics and macroeconomics), "socio-cultural", "human resources", "capability of "Industries, technologies and related infrastructure", "geographical, climatic and environmental" and "foreign policy". Despite the high importance of the vast majority of factors, Iran in most cases has not performed well and has acted below average. The results show that the importance of "credit and budget" and "policy" factors is more than other factors and "institutional", "economic" and "human resources" are in the second level. By calculating and plotting the matrices related to the "current and favorable status gap" by the IPA method, the factors were completed and prepared for policymakers in the field of renewable energy.