Impressive growth rates of solar photovoltaics (PV) in higher latitudes are raising concerns about seasonal mismatches between demand and supply. Locating utility-scale PV projects in alpine regions with high solar irradiation could help to meet demand during the winter season. However, similar to wind farms, large solar projects change the landscape and may therefore face social acceptance issues. In contrast to the rich literature on wind energy, social acceptance of solar power has received less attention. This paper helps close this gap with the help of a large-scale survey (N = 1036) that examines the acceptance of alpine solar projects in Switzerland through choice experiments. In addition to attributes that are well established in the social acceptance literature, such as local ownership, along with both distributional and procedural justice, we also investigate the influence of innovative design elements on acceptance. Our findings suggest that local ownership, as well as colored solar panels that reduce the perceived landscape change may increase social acceptance, implying that projects should be kept local and low-key. We also find that acceptance of alpine solar projects is higher among the affected population than among inhabitants of non-alpine regions.

高纬度地区太阳能光伏（PV）的惊人增长率正引起人们对供需之间季节性不匹配的担忧。在太阳辐射高的高寒地区设置公用事业规模的光伏项目可以帮助满足冬季的需求。但是，类似于风电场，大型太阳能项目改变了景观，因此可能面临社会认可的问题。与关于风能的丰富文献相反，太阳能对社会的认可受到的关注较少。本文通过一项大规模调查（N = 1036）帮助缩小了这一差距，该调查通过选择实验检验了瑞士对高山太阳能项目的接受程度。除了在社会认可文献中已确立的属性（例如本地所有权）之外，连同分配和程序正义，我们还研究了创新设计元素对验收的影响。我们的发现表明，当地所有权以及减少感知景观变化的彩色太阳能电池板可能会增加社会认可度，这意味着项目应保持本地化且低调。我们还发现，受影响人群中高山太阳能项目的接受程度高于非高山地区居民。