Factors Affecting Public Willingness to Adopt Renewable Energy Technologies: An Exploratory Analysis

Renewable energy has become an important element of today's modern technology targeting high-efficiency energy production. As part of its 2030 Vision, Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase its energy production through renewable sources. The purpose of this research study is to explore the factors affecting public willingness to adopt renewable energy technologies in the western region of Saudi Arabia. This was achieved through an extensive literature review of previous studies conducted worldwide and resulted in the extraction of 19 factors that affect public willingness to adopt renewable energy technologies. Following a quantitative research design, random cross-sectional data of 416 participants using the extracted factors were collected via an online questionnaire survey. Following a dimension reduction statistical approach, key components were extracted with exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis. Five main components clustering the 19 extracted factors were revealed: cost and government regulations and policies, public awareness and local market, environment and public infrastructure, residential building, and renewable energy technology systems. The implications of this research study assist in guiding governments, regulations and policy makers, marketing agencies, and investors to better understand the concerns and enablers of renewable energy technologies adoption from the public perspective.