Assessing the Public Knowledge Structure Towards Renewable Energy Sources in Hungary

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of the Hungarian population towards renewable energy sources in order to lay the foundations for energy policy decisions. 1062 individuals were included in the representative survey. The word association method was used to assess whether the population was aware of the meaning of the expression ‘renewable energy sources’, their potential uses, what they think about their application and whether they see the advantages and potential difficulties. A Conceptual Network (CN) was compiled, based on the relative frequency of the associations made with the concept “renewable energies” which led to the conclusion that the most widely known renewable energy sources are solar, wind and hydro energy. It was revealed that public attitudes are unanimously positive. It was also determined that almost 20% of the population do not know what the concept of renewable energy source means. The gender of the responders had no significant effect on the CN; however, in terms of age, there were stronger differences – it was revealed that younger generations are more knowledgeable about the subject. There were significant differences in terms of education. People with the lowest level of education demonstrated a significant lack of information.