An integrated adoption model of solar energy technologies in South Korea

Abstract

With recent developments of many significant social problems in South Korea, such as the national blackout events of the nuclear plants components in the South Korean energy industry due to use of low-quality parts, citizens have begun asking tough questions about the country's energy industry in connection to economic, security, and environment. In regards to this same issue, there is rapidly growing interest in renewable energy technologies to reduce the potential problems with traditional energy plants. Among many kinds of renewable energy technologies, solar energy technologies have been considered as one of the most promising energy technologies in South Korea by many energy experts. However, the amount of electricity and energy provided by solar energy technologies constitutes only a small percentage of the total energy production in South Korea. Therefore, in this study, we explored the factors that have a significant effect on the intentions of the public to use solar energy technologies. The results from applying a structural equation modeling method to the integrated research model indicated that three positive factors comprising of system quality, perceived benefits, and trust, significantly contributed to determining the public's attitude toward solar energy technologies. The intention to use the technologies was also determined by two positive variables (public attitude and satisfaction) and one negative variable (perceived cost). Based on the empirical findings of the current study, both implications and suggestions are presented and discussed in this paper.