Solar energy technology: Knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of B40 households in one district of Malaysia towards government initiatives

Abstract

Various initiatives have been planned and implemented by the Government of Malaysia to increase the lower 40% household income known as “B40”. Among these was the solar photovoltaic (PV) project publicly known as “MySuria,” which was presented by the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia in Budget 2017. As classified by the Department of Statistic Malaysia (DSoM), B40 is a household group that earns a monthly income of RM3,855 and below. It is a group of people who have low wealth and non-financial asset ownership and desperately needed governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) assistance to survive and very vulnerable to economic shocks. This study was conducted to identify the B40 households' level of basic science knowledge, awareness, and acceptance to use solar photovoltaic (PV) energy technology to generate extra income. A set of questionnaires comprises demographic information, awareness, and acceptance to utilizing solar PV technology, as well as a short test about the basic science of solar energy, were distributed to selected respondents. The respondent was composed of one hundred B40 working individuals in the public and private sectors around the Tanjong Malim district. Since this research is intentionally done to identify the specific group interests with no intention to generalized the data, the group population was purposefully sampled to achieve the research's objective. It was found that 43% of respondents have a tertiary education (diploma or degree), 70% were married, and 90% were youth (under 40 years old). The findings of this study also revealed that although 80% of respondents have basic knowledge of science, their level of awareness about solar energy technology and its use was at the average score. However, the respondents showed their high level of acceptance towards the government's initiative in using solar energy technology to increase their household incomes. Additionally, the study also discovered that the B40 group in Tanjung Malim district is highly engaged in the changes brought by the new technology product to their society that would benefit them. On top of that, the respondents gave a full-fledged commitment to use, promote, and educate their families in solar energy technology.