Do China's energy poor left-behind regions benefit from solar photovoltaics?

China has attempted to address “left-behind” regions' (LBRs) energy poverty by expanding solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the regions. This paper examines the effect of solar PV on LBRs' energy poverty using nighttime light (NTL) as a measure of lighting and electrification. Spatial autoregressive regressions show that both LBR and non-LBR regions stand to gain from higher NTL associated with smaller scale, distributed PV installations. In contrast, large-scale utility PV, installed predominantly in the more arid western region, has a negative effect. The findings suggest that distributed PV is a viable solar system for alleviating energy poverty but the state's priority in utility PV competes with regional development goals that seek to address uneven development.