Behavioral determinants of compliance with statutory maintenance and inspection for distributed solar photovoltaics in Japan
摘要
Distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) are now widespread in Japan, and many early systems are reaching ages where routine maintenance and inspection (M&I) matters for safety, sustained generation, and the credibility of renewable-energy transitions. Japanese regulations require periodic M&I under the Electricity Business Act and the FIT/FIP business-plan regime, yet compliance among small owners remains uneven and evidence on its determinants is limited. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we analyze a cross-sectional survey of PV owners in Ehime Prefecture (N = 616; households and workplaces) to examine both (1) current implementation of statutory M&I and (2) intentions to comply. Logistic regression results show that perceived behavioral control—knowing whom to contact, finding it easy to arrange service, and perceiving costs as manageable—is associated with current M&I, along with descriptive social norms. In separate single-predictor models, awareness that statutory M&I is legally required is associated with current household M&I, current workplace M&I, and future intentions; these estimates are interpreted as separate associations rather than as ranked effects across different model specifications. More frequent generation monitoring and recognition of module power-output warranties are also linked to current implementation. The findings suggest that improving compliance is less about changing general pro-maintenance attitudes and more about reducing practical frictions and making obligations visible at moments when owners are already engaged. Simple interventions—plain-language obligation notices, checklists, and direct booking or reminder links embedded in installer, utility, or municipal touchpoints—could help scale statutory M&I and support safer, longer-lived PV assets. In sustainable development terms, better statutory M&I can help sustain renewable-energy services, reduce community and workplace safety risks, extend PV lifetimes, and delay end-of-life waste, with particular relevance to SDGs 7, 11, 12, and 13.