Overcoming political, social and economic barriers to promote solar photovoltaic technology in a developing country

This paper narrates the experiences of a private sector commercial company and that of a private developer (nonprofit organization) in their efforts to promote solar PV technology in a developing country. The country chosen is Sri Lanka, in which a considerable PV power effort has already been witnessed. However, substantial political, economic and social barriers exist which have hindered PV power promotion in that country. The authors point that similar constraints may impede promotional efforts in many developing countries and recommend that a global paradigm to promote PV power system technology must assign an important role to the issue of obstacles.