Under the global climate change and energy crisis, solar energy has become the focus of research, development, and utilization throughout the world. Therefore, an empirical study on the awareness of residents for solar photovoltaic power generation is of great significance. Based on the 330 questionnaire data, by adopting the single factor variance analysis (S-N-K test) methodology, this paper first analyzed the differences between various groups of residents from varied perspectives of Chinese residents, i.e., different ages, different education attainments, different income levels, different genders, and different industries. Then, it conducted a regression analysis of the demographic variables by using linear regression models. The results indicate that: (1) the awareness of different types of Chinese residents is significantly different;(2) education and income levels have significant impacts on their awareness. Finally, this paper proposed corresponding policy recommendations based on these findings. V C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.