Acceptance Of Energy Technologies Research Articles

A Targeted Review on Revisiting and Augmenting the Framework for Technology Acceptance in the Renewable Energy Context

Given that the implementation of renewable technologies has some key bottlenecks in adoption, this topic has been explored. Particularly, we are reviewing existing theories and models to understand their fit for changing social structures and evolving world contexts. This review begins with an introduction followed by a background study on renewable energy technology (RET). We have employed a mixed-approach methodology to synthesize the relevant literature. The review comprises a summary and comparison of some existing theories and models such as TAM, TRA, and UTAUT, elucidating factors influencing technology adoption processes. Additionally, the review discusses the scope for future research, emphasizing the need for more nuanced frameworks that account for contextual intricacies and emerging trends in renewable energy adoption. Ultimately, the review concludes with insights into the ongoing discourse surrounding energy technology acceptance and recommendations on the inclusion of current world views in the scope for future study.

Beliefs about technological and contextual features drive biofuels’ social acceptance

To make the transition towards renewable and sustainable energy possible, there is a need to make new relevant technologies, including biofuels more acceptable and accepted. To promote biofuels acceptance and thus adoption means to improve both their perceived technological features and the surrounding context supporting their adoption, as well as some social-psychological features of the target adopters. Achieving the ultimate goal of biofuels adoption thus requires a complex and holistic approach to foster this new energy technology's acceptability and acceptance considering several biofuels features. For this aim, the integrated Sustainable Energy Technology Adoption Model (i-SETA) was developed and tested with newly piloted tools to measure the relevant biofuels' beliefs profile. A Path Analysis tested the relationship between the investigated variables. Results revealed the importance of beliefs belonging to each one of the different considered domains (technological, contextual, and personal variables). Several of them had a direct impact on the cognitive and affective biofuels evaluation, and subsequently on biofuels acceptability and acceptance, for European Union both laypeople and expert stakeholders (total sample of 1017 participants). The main results thus revealed that very specific beliefs, across all the three beliefs classes, can be identified as either barriers or drivers with respect to the aim of boosting biofuels' acceptability and acceptance. Each one of these specific beliefs could thus be properly targeted in the audiences to cope with the barriers and capitalize on the drivers.

Does psychological empowerment improve renewable energy technology acceptance and recommendation? Evidence from 17 rural communities

This research investigates the incorporation of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Empowerment Theory into a robust construct within a Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). Utilizing a cross-sectional survey approach, the study focuses on selected rural communities of Northern Ghana. The research encompasses 613 respondents, with an initial pilot study involving 80 participants. The study yields notable findings, establishing statistically significant and positive correlations between empowerment and attitude within the rural Ghanaian context. Furthermore, it identifies a significant influence of purchase intention on the propensity to recommend renewable energy technologies among rural households. These outcomes align with the principles of the Empowerment Theory and are in congruence with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), particularly SDG-7 (universal access to energy) and SDG-12 (responsible production and consumption). The study's implications extend to policy recommendations, specifically tailored to the unique energy landscape of Ghana. These findings contribute to a deeper comprehension of renewable energy proliferation dynamics and emphasize their crucial role in advancing sustainable development objectives and fostering responsible energy practices.

Predicting acceptance and adoption of renewable energy community solutions: the prosumer psychology.

Background: This paper, in the frame of social acceptance of renewable energies and innovative community-based production and consumption models, aims at supporting a data-driven approach able to deal with climate change and identify and quantify the psycho-sociological dimensions and factors that could support the transition from a technology-driven approach to a consumer-driven approach throughout the emerging " prosumer business models". In addition to the already existing Social Acceptance dimensions, this paper tries to identify a purely individual psychological fourth dimension to understand the processes and factors that underlie individual acceptance and adoption of new renewable energy business models, with the realization of a Prosumer Acceptance Index. Methods: Questionnaire data collection has been performed throughout an online survey platform, combining standardized and ad-hoc questions adapted for the research purposes, based on the developed theoretical model. To identify the main factors (individual/social) influencing the relation with renewable energy technology adoption, a Factorial Analysis has been conducted to identify the latent variables that are related to each other. Linear regression has been conducted to identify and quantify the factors that could better predict behavioural intention to become a prosumer. Results: Five latent psychological factors were revealed: concern about environmental issues, interest in energy sharing, concern on climate change, social influence and impact on bill cost. Three variables were found to significantly measure and predict the scores of the "Acceptance in becoming a prosumer" ad hoc scale: attitude, economic incentive and age. Conclusions: This research can facilitate policymakers and stakeholders to better understand which relevant psycho-sociological factors are intervening in the renewable energy technology acceptance processes and what and how specifically target when proposing change towards sustainable energy production and consumption.

Explaining hydrogen energy technology acceptance: A critical review

The use of hydrogen energy and the associated technologies is expected to increase in the coming years. The success of hydrogen energy technology (HET) is, however, dependent on public acceptance of the technology. Developing this new industry in a socially responsible way will require an understanding of the psychology factors that may facilitate or impede its public acceptance. This paper reviews 27 quantitative studies that have explored the relationship between psychological factors and HET acceptance. The findings from the review suggest that the perceived effects of the technology (i.e., the perceived benefits, costs and risks), and the associated emotions, are strong drivers of HET acceptance. This paper does, though, highlight some limitations with past research that make it difficult to make strong conclusions about the factors that influence HET acceptance. The review also reveals that few studies have investigated acceptance of different types of HET beyond a couple of applications. The paper ends with a discussion about directions for future research and highlights some practical implications for messaging and policy. • Perceived effects, and associated emotions, are strong predictors of acceptance. • Unclear what context-specific beliefs underpin attitudes towards hydrogen. • Most studies focused on acceptance of hydrogen fuel stations and hydrogen cars. • A dearth of research investigating acceptance of the whole hydrogen value chain. • Identified inconsistencies in the measurement of psychological constructs.

Assessing the social acceptance of key technologies for the German energy transition

BackgroundThe widespread use of sustainable energy technologies is a key element in the transformation of the energy system from fossil-based to zero-carbon. In line with this, technology acceptance is of great importance as resistance from the public can slow down or hinder the construction of energy technology projects. The current study assesses the social acceptance of three energy technologies relevant for the German energy transition: stationary battery storage, biofuel production plants and hydrogen fuel station.MethodsAn online survey was conducted to examine the public’s general and local acceptance of energy technologies. Explored factors included general and local acceptance, public concerns, trust in relevant stakeholders and attitudes towards financial support.ResultsThe results indicate that general acceptance for all technologies is slightly higher than local acceptance. In addition, we discuss which public concerns exist with regard to the respective technologies and how they are more strongly associated with local than general acceptance. Further, we show that trust in stakeholders and attitudes towards financial support is relatively high across the technologies discussed.ConclusionsTaken together, the study provides evidence for the existence of a “general–local” gap, despite measuring general and local acceptance at the same level of specificity using a public sample. In addition, the collected data can provide stakeholders with an overview of worries that might need to be addressed when planning to implement a certain energy project.

An Empirical Study of Renewable Energy Technology Acceptance in Ghana Using an Extended Technology Acceptance Model

Energy consumption, and its impact on the environment, has become an increased focal point in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African country, following population growth and rapid urbanization. Ghana has high potential for renewable energy generation; nevertheless, low acceptance and usage have been found. An extensive study is required to understand the causes driving poor acceptability and the intentions to use renewable energy. This study aims to empirically investigate the acceptance of renewable energy using an extended technology acceptance model (TAM). A cross-sectional survey was conducted, from 1 February 2021 to 30 June 2021, using a self-administered questionnaire. The survey was carried out on Ghanaian adults of the age 18 years and above. Data was collected from 1068 respondents from Ghana’s northern and southern parts and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS software. The results of the data analysis reveal that environmental awareness is the biggest predictor of the intention to use renewable energy in Ghana. Perceived affordability was also found to be the most significant predictor of attitudes towards the use of renewable energy in Ghana. The findings of this research will give policymakers, manufacturers, and the providers of renewable energy appliances a better understanding of the factors that determine the intention to use renewable energy.

Acceptance of energy technologies in context: Comparing laypeople's risk perceptions across eight infrastructure technologies in Germany

In Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), CO2 captured from industrial processes replaces fossil feedstock used to produce of a variety of products, e.g., plastic products, fuels, or minerals. The roll-out of CCU will depend on the public's acceptance and risk perception. Whereas past studies exclusively focused on CCU risk perception, this study (n = 266) compared CCU to seven other infrastructure technologies (fossil, nuclear, renewable energies) to put the perceived CCU risks into perspective.The risk perception for CCU was higher than it was for renewables, but lower compared to conventional energy technologies. User factors had limited influence on the risk perception: the perceived risks of CCU were not affected by people's general risk orientation. Instead, risk judgments were guided by the risk evaluations of renewable and conventional energy technologies, indicating that CCU was “neither fish nor fowl” for laypeople. This lack of familiarity with CCU highlights the need for communication concepts which clarify the role of CCU for climate and resource protection.

Unfulfilled promise: social acceptance of the smart grid

Smart grids use digital information technology to simultaneously increase energy efficiency while integrating renewables into the electric grid, making it a critical component of achieving a low-carbon energy system. Prior research on the social acceptance of smart grids has relied on either single time point assessment (i.e. prior to a smart grid rollout) or experimental and lab settings. These approaches miss key aspects of social acceptance because they fail to capture change over time through the interaction between stakeholders, technology, and utilities. In contrast, we compare two waves of survey data on the social acceptance of smart grid technologies, the first (n = 609) prior to a local rollout of a smart grid program in upstate New York and the second (n = 533) two years after the same rollout. Our results demonstrate that in contrast to the hopes of smart energy advocates, the social acceptance of four dimensions of smart grids either remain steady or decline over time. Further analyses reveal that the factors that shape acceptance also change over time. This study demonstrates that the social acceptance of smart grids may actually decrease over time even with the robust engagement of consumers, not only challenging optimistic views of smart grid technology but also challenging broader theoretical arguments in the literature on the social acceptance of energy technologies.

Energy justice from the bottom up: A capability approach to community acceptance of wind energy in Mexico

This paper aims to extend the energy justice framework by using the capability approach to understand factors affecting community acceptance of energy technologies. The capability approach is a normative framework for assessing people’s well-being and devising interventions for social justice. Whilst recognising that opposition to energy technologies is fundamentally a problem of distributive, recognition and procedural injustices, the paper operationalises the capability approach to unveil what these justice tenets mean to indigenous people living in three communities neighbouring wind installations located in Southern Mexico. Findings conclude that building a bottom-up approach to understand complex conceptions of energy justice within a community can lead to an improved awareness of justice implications relevant to community acceptance of energy technologies. In the Mexican case, these factors relate to inclusive community engagement that pays particular attention to valued ways of being and doing of the local population, such as equal access to employment, higher education and professional training, diversified sources of income, and recognition of the local indigenous everyday life and communal identity. The results also highlight a nested structure of justice concerns, with the three tenets being embedded into one another and presenting different levels of visibility.

“Risky transitions?” Risk perceptions, public concerns, and energy infrastructure in Germany

Citizen protests against large-scale energy infrastructure technologies underline the vital role of public acceptance for energy planning. Research has found risk and benefit perceptions to affect energy technology acceptance considerably. Comparing risk and benefit perceptions of wind turbines, electricity pylons, and mobile phone masts, an empirical study was undertaken in Germany. The study examined whether there are types of risks perceived as particularly relevant, regardless of the technology, or whether each technology (wind, electricity transmission, mobile technology) has a specific “risk pattern.” Benefit perceptions and trust did not differ between energy infrastructure technologies (wind turbines and electricity pylons), though perceived risks were significantly higher in the pylon context compared to wind turbines. Energy infrastructure was perceived as significantly less hazardous than mobile phone infrastructure.Beyond the impact of different mast types, also person-specific effects influenced risk perceptions: The higher the perceived knowledge about large-scale infrastructure technologies, the lower was the overall risk perception associated with the respective technology. Persons with less perceived knowledge showed lower levels of technical self-efficacy and, in case of wind turbines, a lower environmental awareness. Findings can be used for tailoring future information and public communication concepts to the user-specific requirements regarding energy infrastructure planning.

Accounting for taste? Analysing diverging public support for energy sources in Great Britain

Public acceptance of energy technologies is an important area of energy and social science research. However, few studies utilise large datasets which include spatial and temporal dimensions, as well as the demographic and attitudinal characteristics of survey respondents. In this paper, we analyse twenty-five waves of the UK Government's Energy and Climate Change Public Attitudes Tracker: a large, nationally representative dataset spanning six years (2012 - 2018). This enables unique insights into trends in public acceptance across time, space and social groups, covering eight energy sources. We find differing profiles in terms of who supports which types of energy, with a key division between support for renewable technologies on the one hand, and nuclear and fracking on the other. We also identify a growing gap between public and policymakers’ attitudes to energy technologies which we argue must be bridged to ensure a smooth rapid transition that is acceptable to all.

Uncovering attitudes towards carbon capture storage and utilization technologies in Germany: Insights into affective-cognitive evaluations of benefits and risks

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) are technologies which aim at mitigating climate change and saving fossil resources: CO2 emissions from industrial plants are captured and stored underground (CCS) or used for the manufacturing of products (CCU). In contrast to CCS, CCU is less about the reduction of CO2 emissions, since the global demand for feedstock CO2 to be used for CCU products is considerably lower than the CO2 emissions produced worldwide. Moreover, the CO2 is only temporarily stored until the disposal of the CCU products. Instead, a reduction of fossil resources in product manufacturing is the primary goal for CCU. The successful roll-out of CCS and CCU is not solely determined by technical feasibility but also depends on public acceptance. Research has shown that acceptance of energy technologies is impacted by laypersons’ attitudes. So far, little is known about differences in affective and cognitive evaluations of CCU in comparison to CCS. To address this research gap, an online survey was conducted in Germany (n = 449), in which affective and cognitive evaluation profiles for CCS and CCU were compared. Also, it was explored whether attitudes towards CCS are predictive of CCU acceptance. Results revealed basically similar evaluation profiles for CCS and CCU but CCU was rated significantly more positively. Comparing results for CCS supporters and opponents, it was found that CCS supporters rated CCU similarly positive whereas CCS opponents evaluated CCU significantly better than CCS. The findings can be used for communication concepts tailored to laypeople’s requirements and concerns and yield implications for industrial policy-making.

Opinion mining approach to study media-image of energy production. Implications to public acceptance and market deployment

The nature of media image, through either traditional or social media, may have an influence on public acceptance of energy technologies. The potential impact on decision-making can make media image a factor for technology market deployment, similar to technical, legal, and economic factors. Public acceptance tends to be shaped by how technologies are presented in the media. This study compares and analyses the media image of various power production technologies. Editorial and social media are analysed by using the M-Adaptive tool for media monitoring to obtain the media sentiment. The analysis is rather broad, including three million social media platforms and various news outlets in many regions and covering an enormous number of data points, from which this study has selected over 250,000 for further analysis with the help of artificial intelligence. The results indicate that public sentiment towards power production technologies varies among different technologies, and between editorial publications and social media. Editorial content is usually constructed by using news frames, whereas social media includes more emotional content from single users. A potential chain from media image to energy technology market deployment is suggested. The findings support the notion of social media having an increasing role in shaping public opinion, which may need to be acknowledged to a larger extent.

Disclosing Citizens’ Perceptual Patterns of the Transition to Renewable Energy in Germany

The article aims to explore citizens’ perceptual patterns underlying the public’s view of the German energy transition. By reducing the complexity of the public’s views to its main dimensions, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of citizens’ reactions to transition projects such as the German energy transition. This research is based on a German-wide representative survey that included items covering different aspects concerning the acceptance of energy technologies (trust in key actors, fairness, perceived risks and benefits, etc.). In order to explore citizens’ perceptual patterns of the German energy transition, we drew on the method of categorical principal component analysis. On the basis of our results, we hypothesize that risk-benefit/acceptance and trust/fairness are two main latent dimensions underlying citizens’ perception of the energy transition.

Between the technology acceptance model and sustainable energy technology acceptance model: Investigating smart meter acceptance in the United States

This study investigated a set of social-psychological predictors affecting smart meter support and adoption intention based on the Technology Acceptance and Sustainable Energy Technology Acceptance Models among 711 U.S. residents. Despite low levels of adoption in the U.S., this study suggested that the majority of our participants supported smart meter technology and were willing to adopt this technology. Two perceived technology attributes – usefulness and risk to privacy – had direct effects on support for smart meter installation and adoption intention, while the other technology attribute, perceived cost, had no impact. Individual differences in trust in one’s utility company and problem perception related to energy issues affected support and adoption intention through the mediators of perceived usefulness and privacy risk. Problem perception also had direct effects on support and adoption intention. Democrats reported higher levels of trust in utility companies and problem perception than non-Democrats. This study provides useful insights for utility managers, researchers and policy makers.

Renewable energy technology acceptance in Peninsular Malaysia

Despite various policies, renewable energy resources have not been developed in Malaysia. This study investigates the factors that influence renewable energy technology acceptance in Peninsular Malaysia and attempts to show the impact of cost and knowledge on the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of renewable energy technology. The results show that cost of renewable energy has an indirect effect on attitudes towards using renewable energy through the associated impact on the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The results also indicate that public knowledge in Peninsular Malaysia does not affect perceived ease of use, although the positive impact of knowledge on perceived usefulness is supported. Furthermore, our results show that the current business environment in Peninsular Malaysia does not support the adoption of renewable energy technology, and thus, renewable energy technology is not commercially viable in Peninsular Malaysia. Additionally, the population of Peninsular Malaysia associates the use of renewable energy with a high level of effort and therefore has a negative attitude towards the use of renewable energy technology. There is, therefore, a definite need to pay more attention to the role of public perception and awareness in the successes and failures of renewable energy policy.

How would social acceptance affect nuclear power development? A study from China

Social acceptance of energy technologies has drawn an increasingly level of public attentions in last decades. The high level of social acceptance within local communities makes an energy project more likely to be successful. China has decided to develop the nuclear power actively on the basis of safety though some developed countries decided to shut down the existing nuclear power plants or to abandon plans to build new nuclear power plant following the Fukushima nuclear accident. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate social acceptance issues of nuclear power from local residents' perspective in Shandong Province, China. The results show that there is low level of public awareness of nuclear power. However, the local acceptance level is high due to common concerns on environmental issues as well as soaring electricity prices. This research also highlights most significant risks and benefits associated with nuclear power developments that are perceived by local residents. These findings provide useful inputs to policy making process and nuclear power developers to enhance the level of social acceptance in future developments, as well as to achieve low fossil-carbon transformation in China.

The Analysis of Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Biofuel Energy Consumption in Lagos, Nigeria

This paper investigated the level of awareness and prevailing attitudes of the people towards renewable energy in lagos Nigeria focusing on biofuel energy with the use of Oshodi/Isolo Local Government area as a case study. This study also aimed to highlight the importance of implementing energy education as early as possible to encourage biofuel acceptance, which is necessary to alleviate the risk from fossil fuel related environmental problems. Data were sourced using a combination of multiple choices and dichotomous web-based questionnaire designed to ascertain the community’s awareness, attitude, and willingness to invest in biofuel energy technologies. In total, 134 respondents completed for the survey. Multivariate correlation technique and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results showed that about 75% were aware of biofuel energy, while a further 65% are willing to use the technology when it becomes available and an even greater number of respondents are willing to pay extra for their household to have biofuel energy. In general, it was concluded that there were indication of positive attitude towards a new energy technology acceptance and its use.

Find the differences and the similarities: Relating perceived benefits, perceived costs and protected values to acceptance of five energy technologies

Few studies have investigated and compared the acceptance of different energy technologies, hence the need to examine a comprehensive model to explain their acceptance. Moreover, little is known about the role of protected values, that is, values that are extremely important and non-negotiable for a person, in the acceptance of different energy resources. In a large mail survey in Switzerland, we investigated the acceptance of five energy technologies, including a number of determinants, such as protected values. Based on our results, we concluded that perceived benefits, perceived costs and protected values were important in explaining the public's acceptance of an energy technology. Moreover, to change the level of acceptance of an energy resource, communication should best focus on its benefits. We found only small differences and mainly similarities between the same predictors of the acceptance of different energy resources. Hence, we can conclude that to explain the acceptance of various energy technologies, one model fits all.