Personal and psychological factors affecting the successful development of solar energy use in Yemen power sector: A case study

Abstract

The development of the use of renewable energy (RE) to alleviate the electricity, fuel crises and poverty in Yemen and most developing countries is a crucial issue, which is significantly influenced by the psychological, contextual, and personal factors affecting public acceptance. This study aims to determine the personal and psychological determinants that influence the public׳s knowledge of and attitudes and behavioral intentions toward solar energy use in the power sector in urban and rural areas in Yemen. In this study, the people׳s behavioral intentions are evaluated by measuring their willingness to pay, willingness to change the currently used electricity source during power outages, and willingness to invest in the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme. In this context, face-to-face interviews using a self-structured questionnaire were conducted with 348 households in Aden governorate (urban area) and 258 households in Lahj governorate (rural area). The results showed that, although the people in both areas are not well informed about RE resources, the benefits and drawbacks of solar energy use in the power sector, and the solar power technologies, they have highly positive attitudes toward the use of RE. Furthermore, 66%, 55.7%, and 78.4% of the urban population and 70%, 55.4%, and 75.6% of the rural population are willing to pay, to change electricity source, and to invest in FiT scheme, respectively. The findings also showed that existing small-scale solar projects have played a significant role in gaining public acceptance, particularly in rural areas that have higher installation and usage levels than urban area. Consequently, implementing pilot projects, disseminating information through formal and informal education, setting appropriate RE policies, and improving people׳s livelihood in different country׳s regions will lead to achieve a sustainable development of RE use.