This paper studies how cognitive friction shapes rural households’ willingness to lease rooftops for distributed solar photovoltaics. Using double-bounded WTA survey data from 311 households in Pingdingshan, Henan Province, we estimate a two-class latent class model that allows households to follow different information-processing rules. About 66.8 percent of households belong to a policy-familiar class that incorporates return confidence into project valuation. Their mean WTA is 31.03 yuan per square meter per year, compared with 57.38 yuan for the policy-unfamiliar class. Counterfactual simulations show that improving return confidence and policy familiarity can sharply raise participation and substitute for cash subsidies. Raising both to their highest levels increases zero-subsidy participation from 15.1 percent to 88.7 percent and generates substantial annual CO2 abatement.
