IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jworld/v1y2020i2p8-103d393070.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Malaysia Ready for Sustainable Energy? Exploring the Attitudes toward Solar Energy and Energy Behaviors in Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Ai Ni Teoh

    (School of Social and Health Sciences, James Cook University, Singapore 387380, Singapore)

  • Yun Ii Go

    (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Putrajaya 62200, Malaysia)

  • Tze Chuen Yap

    (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Putrajaya 62200, Malaysia)

Abstract

To meet the larger demand for electricity supply, Malaysia needs to achieve two main psychosocial conditions, among others—having the awareness of renewable energy and demonstrating energy-conserving behavior. To examine whether Malaysia has met these two conditions, we recruited 225 participants ( n = 109 women, n = 113 men, n = 3 did not indicate) to complete a series of questionnaires. The results showed that the public was aware of the option of solar energy but was not ready to install solar photovoltaic panels after being told the cost incurred. Furthermore, the public did not show satisfying energy-conserving behaviors. To boost the installation of solar power, increasing the public’s energy knowledge and implementing policies to reduce the installation cost might be helpful. These findings highlighted Malaysia’s low readiness for solar power and shed some light on what needs to be done to be better prepared for solar power.

Suggested Citation

  • Ai Ni Teoh & Yun Ii Go & Tze Chuen Yap, 2020. "Is Malaysia Ready for Sustainable Energy? Exploring the Attitudes toward Solar Energy and Energy Behaviors in Malaysia," World, MDPI, vol. 1(2), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jworld:v:1:y:2020:i:2:p:8-103:d:393070
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/1/2/8/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/1/2/8/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stamatios Ntanos & Grigorios Kyriakopoulos & Miltiadis Chalikias & Garyfallos Arabatzis & Michalis Skordoulis, 2018. "Public Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy: A Case Study from Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Xiang Cai & Meiying Xie & Haijing Zhang & Zhenli Xu & Faxin Cheng, 2019. "Business Models of Distributed Solar Photovoltaic Power of China: The Business Model Canvas Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-27, August.
    3. Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus & Ramirez-Iniguez, Roberto & Abu-Bakar, Siti Hawa & McMeekin, Scott G. & Stewart, Brian G., 2011. "An evaluation of the installation of solar photovoltaic in residential houses in Malaysia: Past, present, and future," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7975-7987.
    4. Jin, Jianjun & Wan, Xinyu & Lin, Yongsheng & Kuang, Foyuan & Ning, Jing, 2019. "Public willingness to pay for the research and development of solar energy in Beijing, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Setyawati, Dinita, 2020. "Analysis of perceptions towards the rooftop photovoltaic solar system policy in Indonesia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Abdar, Moloud & Basiri, Mohammad Ehsan & Yin, Junjun & Habibnezhad, Mahmoud & Chi, Guangqing & Nemati, Shahla & Asadi, Somayeh, 2020. "Energy choices in Alaska: Mining people's perception and attitudes from geotagged tweets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Bernadette Fina & Hans Auer, 2020. "Economic Viability of Renewable Energy Communities under the Framework of the Renewable Energy Directive Transposed to Austrian Law," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, November.
    3. William Philip Wall & Bilal Khalid & Mariusz Urbański & Michal Kot, 2021. "Factors Influencing Consumer’s Adoption of Renewable Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Baharoon, Dhyia Aidroos & Rahman, Hasimah Abdul & Fadhl, Saeed Obaid, 2016. "Publics׳ knowledge, attitudes and behavioral toward the use of solar energy in Yemen power sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 498-515.
    5. Jing, Ong Li & Bashir, Mohammed J.K. & Kao, Jehng-Jung, 2015. "Solar radiation based benefit and cost evaluation for solar water heater expansion in Malaysia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 328-335.
    6. Haiyang Shang & Fang Su & Serhat Yüksel & Hasan Dinçer, 2021. "Identifying the Strategic Priorities of the Technical Factors for the Sustainable Low Carbon Industry Based on Macroeconomic Conditions," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.
    7. Sara Ghaboulian Zare & Reza Hafezi & Mohammad Alipour & Reza Parsaei Tabar & Rodney A. Stewart, 2021. "Residential Solar Water Heater Adoption Behaviour: A Review of Economic and Technical Predictors and Their Correlation with the Adoption Decision," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-26, October.
    8. Fang, Yiping & Wei, Yanqiang, 2013. "Climate change adaptation on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: The importance of solar energy utilization for rural household," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 508-518.
    9. Li, Na & Okur, Özge, 2023. "Economic analysis of energy communities: Investment options and cost allocation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    10. Hirsh Bar Gai, Dor & Shittu, Ekundayo & Attanasio, Donna & Weigelt, Carmen & LeBlanc, Saniya & Dehghanian, Payman & Sklar, Scott, 2021. "Examining community solar programs to understand accessibility and investment: Evidence from the U.S," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Lin, Boqiang & Qiao, Qiao, 2023. "Exploring the participation willingness and potential carbon emission reduction of Chinese residential green electricity market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    12. Woo, JongRoul & Moon, Sungho & Choi, Hyunhong, 2022. "Economic value and acceptability of advanced solar power systems for multi-unit residential buildings: The case of South Korea," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    13. Abu-Bakar, Siti Hawa & Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus & Ramirez-Iniguez, Roberto & Mallick, Tapas Kumar & Munir, Abu Bakar & Mohd Yasin, Siti Hajar & Abdul Rahim, Ruzairi, 2014. "Rotationally asymmetrical compound parabolic concentrator for concentrating photovoltaic applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 363-372.
    14. Rami David Orejon-Sanchez & Jose Ramon Andres-Diaz & Alfonso Gago-Calderon, 2021. "Autonomous Photovoltaic LED Urban Street Lighting: Technical, Economic, and Social Viability Analysis Based on a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.
    15. Lau, Lin-Sea & Choong, Yuen-Onn & Wei, Chooi-Yi & Seow, Ai-Na & Choong, Chee-Keong & Senadjki, Abdelhak & Ching, Suet-Ling, 2020. "Investigating nonusers’ behavioural intention towards solar photovoltaic technology in Malaysia: The role of knowledge transmission and price value," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    16. Ziyuan Tang & Hasan Dinçer, 2019. "Selecting the House-of-Quality-Based Energy Investment Policies for the Sustainable Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-22, June.
    17. Artur Pawłowski & Paweł Rydzewski, 2023. "Challenges and Opportunities for the Energy Sector in the Face of Threats Such as Climate Change and the COVID-19 Pandemic—An International Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-21, May.
    18. Wu, Haixia & Ge, Yan & Li, Jianping, 2023. "Uncertainty, time preference and households’ adoption of rooftop photovoltaic technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    19. Farah Roslan & Ștefan Cristian Gherghina & Jumadil Saputra & Mário Nuno Mata & Farah Diana Mohmad Zali & José Moleiro Martins, 2022. "A Panel Data Approach towards the Effectiveness of Energy Policies in Fostering the Implementation of Solar Photovoltaic Technology: Empirical Evidence for Asia-Pacific," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    20. Hossein Heirani & Naser Bagheri Moghaddam & Sina Labbafi & Seyedali Sina, 2022. "A Business Model for Developing Distributed Photovoltaic Systems in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-21, September.

    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:jworld:v:1:y:2020:i:2:p:8-103:d:393070. 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.