•Consumers' lack of knowledge about solar energy, high rate of currency fluctuations, and lack of government support for the private sector are three barriers to the adoption of solar energy from the point of view of market representatives.•One of the most important factors of non-investment in Golestan province is the false and unscientific belief that Golestan province does not have the proper capacity to use solar energy due to its mild and humid climate.•Energy policymaking has rarely involved the social dimensions of changing energy systems in a conscious, explicit, and extensive manner, and most of the energy policy and planning in Iran is focused exclusively on technologies. Iran is one of the largest holders of energy resources in the world and has always enjoyed a special international position in the world in terms of the amount of exports and the extent of available resources. However, the amount of energy consumption in recent years has become one of the most important concerns of the government, and in order to solve it, the government of the Republic of Iran has adopted two policies of reforming the consumption pattern and supplying energy through renewable energies, and specifically, developing the use of solar energy in has taken Meanwhile, various factors such as the market play an essential role in convincing people. Therefore, this research focuses on the social dimension of the issue of energy transfer, considering the human and social factors effective in the adoption of RE, and identifies the social barriers to the adoption of solar energy technologies in Iran (Golestan). This research has been conducted using a qualitative method based on interviews with private sector activists working in the solar energy development market to address the purpose of the research, which is to evaluate the obstacles to the establishment of solar energy technology in Iran from the perspective of market experts. The findings showed that consumers may perceive the need to use solar energy because of the problematic issues arising from the use of non-renewable energy. However, consumers' lack of awareness of solar energy, which is a solution to the problems caused by fossil fuel consumption, the high rate of currency fluctuations, and the government's lack of support for the private sector, are three factors that prevent the adoption of solar energy. Thus, the results of the present study have identified the obstacles to the development of low carbon economy in Iran through the adoption of solar energy. In this regard, all stakeholders including individuals, communities and governments will benefit from the benefits of RE. Since energy transfer studies are classified in one of the three main pillars of small consumer, policy maker or producer and distributor, this research was conducted with the aim of investigating the role of producer or distributor in order to identify the factors affecting it. In this context, it is necessary to examine two other pillars of discussion in future studies.