Socioeconomic drivers of solar PV adoption in Cameroon

This study investigates the socioeconomic and structural drivers of residential photovoltaic (PV) solar energy adoption in Cameroon using the Afrobarometer Round 10 dataset for 2024. Despite the country's vast solar potential, the uptake of decentralized energy remains uneven. Employing a robust probit model with spatial interactions, we analyze how household characteristics, information access, and infrastructure constraints influence the decision to adopt PV systems in the region. Our empirical results indicate that access to the national electricity grid is strongly associated with lower solar adoption, reducing the probability of PV uptake by 25.3% points. This suggests that solar energy currently functions as a critical off-grid substitute rather than as a supplementary power source for grid-connected households. Conversely, rural residence was a significant catalyst, increasing the adoption probability by 9.3% points. Furthermore, human capital, measured by education level, and access to information via ICT assets (radio and television) were positively and significantly associated with adoption, with educational effects being notably amplified in rural areas. Socio-demographic factors such as age and gender showed no statistically significant correlation in our robust specification, suggesting that economic and structural barriers override individual demographic traits. These findings have essential policy implications for decentralized renewable energy strategies in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the need for targeted financial instruments, such as battery storage subsidies and microcredit, to overcome the prohibitive initial capital expenditures faced by rural households.