Energy prosumers. Profiling the energy microgeneration market in Lower Silesia, Poland

Microgeneration of energy has the potential to become an important component of the energy policy of many governments, because it may substantially lower carbon emissions and reduce the need for new infrastructure. Nevertheless, from recent studies it follows that, even in the developed countries, microgeneration technology is far from being widely adopted. In this study, we use data collected in a survey conducted in Lower Silesia, a south-western region of Poland, to build behavioural profiles of energy consumers, in order to get some insights into barriers to microgeneration becoming extensively adopted. In particular, we exploit the decision tree method to determine typical attributes of potential prosumers, to find the relative importance of these attributes and, finally, to make some predictions based on data that were not used in constructing the model. From our findings, it follows that economical criteria are the most important triggers for considering the installation of microgeneration technologies. Thus any governmental initiative promoting pro-ecological behaviours, including the use of renewable energy sources, should be based primarily on financial incentives to succeed.