Abstract
Abstract
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.