What accounts for the China-US difference in solar PV electricity output? An LMDI analysis

China's solar PV installation has seen dramatic growth since 2008. Although in 2015 China's cumulative installed capacity of solar PV was much higher than that of the US, the actual quantities of solar PV electricity output in the two countries were very close. Using Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) analysis approach, this study examined the factors leading to the unsatisfactory performance of Chinese solar unit PV electricity output compared to that of the US. It is found that the differences between China and the US solar PV electricity output in 2015 were mostly caused by solar system efficiency, followed by curtailment issues and unfavorable solar resources. The poor quality of solar panels, and of their operation and maintenance, combined with heavy pollution and smog have lowered the solar system efficiency in China. China's curtailment arises from the low proportion of distributed solar PV (DSPV) and the existing power sector regime that is heavily regulated by administrative planning. Policy implications are to improve solar PV system efficiency, increase the proportion of DSPV installation, enhance the support for energy storage development, and remove institutional constraints on renewable energy integration. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.