Understanding the Behavioral Determinants and Barriers to Community Solar Adoption in the United States: A Mixed Method Analysis

Community solar represents a critical pathway to equitable renewable energy access and energy transition, yet adoption rates remain low, particularly among low-income households. This mixed-methods study analyzes national survey data (2023,2024) and qualitative interviews across multiple U.S locations., using Boston as a comparative case study, due to its emerging community solar programs and supportive policy environment. We examined key behavioral determinants and policy-influenced barriers affecting community solar adoption patterns. Our findings reveal divergent patterns between national and local contexts. National data showed declining self-efficacy (32.4% to 27%, p<0.05) and stable or decreasing personal benefit perceptions, despite significant increases in social expectations. Boston demonstrated more stable self-efficacy, rising personal benefit perceptions (42.7% to 48.2%, p<0.05), and stronger growth in social expectations. However, actual adoption rates remained low in both contexts, highlighting gaps between awareness and behavioral follow-through for adoption.Qualitative insights highlight persistent barriers including knowledge gaps about community solar mechanics, enrollment complexity, concerns about service reliability, and trust issues. Our analysis demonstrates that policy support alone, such as the IRA, is insufficient without targeted interventions that address behavioral and structural barriers. These findings provide actionable insights to leverage community partnerships to integrate clear financial benefits, transparent processes, and social proof to develop more equitable and effective community solar programs.