Article Barriers to adopting solar photovoltaic systems in Hong Kong Kevin Lo 1 , Daphne Ngar-Yin Mah 1,5 , Guihua Wang 2 , Michael KH Leung 3 , Alex Y Lo 4 and Peter Hills 5 Abstract The adoption of solar photovoltaic systems is often constrained by various sociotechnical bar- riers. In this paper, we identify and differentiate barriers to photovoltaic among three groups of potential adopters in Hong Kong: individuals, businesses, and the public sector. A total of 55 interviews were conducted to collect the data for the study. The results indicate that the most important constraints were technical barriers such as space limitations and low energy output, followed by economic barriers such as high upfront costs and long payback periods. Furthermore, we found that individuals were the group most exposed to market, policy, and regulatory barriers and they had to contend with the highest number of barriers. Our analysis also illustrates that there was a close interrelationship between the barriers. For example, technical barriers, such as space limitations, could be overcome partially by addressing regulatory barriers. Based on the analysis, we formulate a number of policy recommendations. The results of this study could be useful to the government in its attempt to facilitate a sustainable energy transition in Hong Kong. Keywords Photovoltaic systems, renewable energy, barriers, policy recommendation, Hong Kong 1 Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong 2 Department of Politics and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 3 School of Energy and Environment, The City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 4 Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 5 Asian Energy Studies Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Corresponding author: Kevin Lo, Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong. Email: lokevin@hkbu.edu.hk Energy & Environment 2018, Vol. 29(5) 649–663 ! The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0958305X18757402 journals.sagepub.com/home/eae