IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i19p5259-d270516.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Influencing Social Perception of Residential Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Saudi Arabia

Author

Listed:
  • Khalid Alrashoud

    (Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Kanagawa, Japan)

  • Koji Tokimatsu

    (Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Kanagawa, Japan)

Abstract

Saudi Arabia has taken major steps to shift from an oil-centered to more environmentally-focused economy. One approach made recently is to enable households to possess and generate electricity by using small-scale residential solar photovoltaic systems (RSPSs). However, the number of applications to install this technology in residences is significantly low. Social acceptance of solar energy is essential for a successful energy transition. Hence, the present study aims to examine factors that may potentially motivate or impede individuals from purchasing RSPSs based on the diffusion of innovations theory. A cross-sectional, web-based survey is conducted including 1498 participants from the five main regions of Saudi Arabia. Results revealed a good cognition level in relation to solar energy, where the majority (64–83%) of respondents are aware of the benefits. An overwhelming proportion of the respondents (97%) associate RSPSs with a significantly positive image, with no significant variation in the acceptance or rejection rates among the five areas covered by the survey ( p = 0.1). The results also show high statistical significance for the differences between RSPS acceptors and rejecters in all innovation attributes ( p < 0.001). However, the perception of relative advantage has a higher correlation with acceptance RSPSs. These perceived advantages were of rather long-term nonfinancial benefits, such as environmental protection against global warming and provision of unlimited power , rather than the revenue related to direct costs benefits. The study also revealed that the installation cost was the most significant barrier to adopting the RSPS, which can be a focus for RSPS dissemination policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Khalid Alrashoud & Koji Tokimatsu, 2019. "Factors Influencing Social Perception of Residential Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5259-:d:270516
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5259/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5259/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marian Beise, 2003. "Lead Markets: Drivers of the Global Diffusion of Innovations," Discussion Paper Series 141, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    2. Faiers, Adam & Neame, Charles, 2006. "Consumer attitudes towards domestic solar power systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(14), pages 1797-1806, September.
    3. Joe Tidd, 2010. "From Models to the Management of Diffusion," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Joe Tidd (ed.), Gaining Momentum Managing the Diffusion of Innovations, chapter 1, pages 3-45, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Wamukonya, Njeri, 2003. "Power sector reform in developing countries: mismatched agendas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 1273-1289, September.
    5. Qureshi, Tahir Masood & Ullah, Kafait & Arentsen, Maarten J., 2017. "Factors responsible for solar PV adoption at household level: A case of Lahore, Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 754-763.
    6. Allen, S.R. & Hammond, G.P. & McManus, M.C., 2008. "Prospects for and barriers to domestic micro-generation: A United Kingdom perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(6), pages 528-544, June.
    7. Ibrahim Mosly & Anas A. Makki, 2018. "Current Status and Willingness to Adopt Renewable Energy Technologies in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Muntasser, M. A. & Bara, M. F. & Quadri, H. A. & EL-Tarabelsi, R. & La-azebi, I. F., 2000. "Photovoltaic marketing in developing countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(1-4), pages 67-72, April.
    9. Muhammad Asif, 2016. "Urban Scale Application of Solar PV to Improve Sustainability in the Building and the Energy Sectors of KSA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-11, November.
    10. Jacobsson, Staffan & Lauber, Volkmar, 2006. "The politics and policy of energy system transformation--explaining the German diffusion of renewable energy technology," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 256-276, February.
    11. Hepbasli, Arif & Alsuhaibani, Zeyad, 2011. "A key review on present status and future directions of solar energy studies and applications in Saudi Arabia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 5021-5050.
    12. Eltawil, Mohamed A. & Zhao, Zhengming, 2010. "Grid-connected photovoltaic power systems: Technical and potential problems--A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 112-129, January.
    13. Iskander Tlili, 2015. "Renewable energy in Saudi Arabia: current status and future potentials," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 859-886, August.
    14. Azzah Alsubaie & Karen Jones, 2017. "An Overview of the Current State of Women’s Leadership in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia and a Proposal for Future Research Directions," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-15, October.
    15. Faiers, Adam & Neame, Charles & Cook, Matt, 2007. "The adoption of domestic solar-power systems: Do consumers assess product attributes in a stepwise process?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 3418-3423, June.
    16. Vasseur, Véronique & Kemp, René, 2015. "The adoption of PV in the Netherlands: A statistical analysis of adoption factors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 483-494.
    17. AlYahya, Sulaiman & Irfan, Mohammad A., 2016. "The techno-economic potential of Saudi Arabia׳s solar industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 697-702.
    18. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Hiendro, Ayong & Al-Turki, Yusuf A., 2016. "Techno-economic energy analysis of wind/solar hybrid system: Case study for western coastal area of Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 374-385.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Troy Malatesta & Gregory M. Morrison & Jessica K. Breadsell & Christine Eon, 2023. "A Systematic Literature Review of the Interplay between Renewable Energy Systems and Occupant Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-27, June.
    2. Marek Angowski & Tomasz Kijek & Marcin Lipowski & Ilona Bondos, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems in Rural Areas of Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-14, August.
    3. Arifa Tanveer & Shihong Zeng & Muhammad Irfan & Rui Peng, 2021. "Do Perceived Risk, Perception of Self-Efficacy, and Openness to Technology Matter for Solar PV Adoption? An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Waad Bouaguel & Tagreed Alsulimani, 2022. "Understanding the Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention toward Shifting to Solar Energy Technology for Residential Use in Saudi Arabia Using the Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Owusu-Sekyere, Enoch & Cissé, Fatoumata Nankoto & Achandi, Esther Leah, 2024. "Impact of solar energy subscription on the market performance of micro, small & medium enterprises in Nigeria," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qureshi, Tahir Masood & Ullah, Kafait & Arentsen, Maarten J., 2017. "Factors responsible for solar PV adoption at household level: A case of Lahore, Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 754-763.
    2. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Twaha, Ssennoga & Al-Hamouz, Zakariya, 2017. "Analyzing the potential and progress of distributed generation applications in Saudi Arabia: The case of solar and wind resources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 287-297.
    3. Mansoor Mustafa & Muhammad Omer Farooq Malik & Ahsen Maqsoom, 2024. "Barriers to Solar PV Adoption in Developing Countries: Multiple Regression and Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Du, Hua & Han, Qi & de Vries, Bauke & Sun, Jun, 2024. "Community solar PV adoption in residential apartment buildings: A case study on influencing factors and incentive measures in Wuhan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 354(PA).
    5. Toka, Agorasti & Iakovou, Eleftherios & Vlachos, Dimitrios & Tsolakis, Naoum & Grigoriadou, Anastasia-Loukia, 2014. "Managing the diffusion of biomass in the residential energy sector: An illustrative real-world case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 56-69.
    6. La Monaca, Sarah & Ryan, Lisa, 2017. "Solar PV where the sun doesn’t shine: Estimating the economic impacts of support schemes for residential PV with detailed net demand profiling," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 731-741.
    7. Woersdorfer, Julia Sophie & Kaus, Wolfhard, 2011. "Will nonowners follow pioneer consumers in the adoption of solar thermal systems? Empirical evidence for northwestern Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2282-2291.
    8. Véronique Vasseur & Anne-Francoise Marique, 2019. "Households’ Willingness to Adopt Technological and Behavioral Energy Savings Measures: An Empirical Study in The Netherlands," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    9. Waad Bouaguel & Tagreed Alsulimani, 2022. "Understanding the Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention toward Shifting to Solar Energy Technology for Residential Use in Saudi Arabia Using the Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-19, September.
    10. Yahya Z. Alharthi & Mahbube K. Siddiki & Ghulam M. Chaudhry, 2018. "Resource Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Grid-Connected Solar PV-Wind Hybrid System for Different Locations in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    11. Collier, Samuel H.C. & House, Jo I. & Connor, Peter M. & Harris, Richard, 2023. "Distributed local energy: Assessing the determinants of domestic-scale solar photovoltaic uptake at the local level across England and Wales," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    12. Zhou, Dequn & Wu, Changsong & Wang, Qunwei & Zha, Donglan, 2019. "Response of scale and leverage of thermal power enterprises to renewable power enterprises in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Bashiri, Ali & Alizadeh, Sasan H., 2018. "The analysis of demographics, environmental and knowledge factors affecting prospective residential PV system adoption: A study in Tehran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 3131-3139.
    14. Drury, Easan & Miller, Mackay & Macal, Charles M. & Graziano, Diane J. & Heimiller, Donna & Ozik, Jonathan & Perry IV, Thomas D., 2012. "The transformation of southern California's residential photovoltaics market through third-party ownership," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 681-690.
    15. Piotr Olczak & Dominik Kryzia & Dominika Matuszewska & Marta Kuta, 2021. "“My Electricity” Program Effectiveness Supporting the Development of PV Installation in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, January.
    16. Balcombe, Paul & Rigby, Dan & Azapagic, Adisa, 2013. "Motivations and barriers associated with adopting microgeneration energy technologies in the UK," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 655-666.
    17. Selvakkumaran, Sujeetha & Ahlgren, Erik O., 2019. "Determining the factors of household energy transitions: A multi-domain study," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 54-75.
    18. Bondio, Steven & Shahnazari, Mahdi & McHugh, Adam, 2018. "The technology of the middle class: Understanding the fulfilment of adoption intentions in Queensland's rapid uptake residential solar photovoltaics market," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 642-651.
    19. Gaydaa Al Zohbi & Fahad Gallab AlAmri, 2024. "Current Situation of Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia: Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(2), pages 1-98, July.
    20. Li, Bo & Ding, Junqi & Wang, Jieqiong & Zhang, Biao & Zhang, Lingxian, 2021. "Key factors affecting the adoption willingness, behavior, and willingness-behavior consistency of farmers regarding photovoltaic agriculture in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5259-:d:270516. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.