Socioeconomic and demographic factors that influence publics' awareness on the different forms of renewable energy sources

Abstract

a b s t r a c tPublic awareness of renewable energy sources can offer multiple benefits, as it can contribute to the social acceptance of projects based on these energy sources and to the overall improvement of consumers' energy behaviour. The objective of the present study is to examine the demographic and socioeconomic factors that determine someone's knowledge on different forms of renewable energy, based on data from a survey that took place in the summer of 2012 in Greece. The most known renewable energy forms are solar and wind energy, followed by geothermal, hydropower and biomass. The lesser known forms are tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy. Factors having a statistically significant relation with the different forms of renewable energy are gender, age, education level, head of household education level, environmentally friendly behaviour and having an occupation, studies or interests related to environment, technology or engineering.

Marine Renewable Energy in the Mediterranean Sea: Status and Perspectives

“…Over the past decades, public perception, preferences, and increasing awareness about renewable energy sources (RES) have been under extensive study; see, for example, [218] and references cited there [219][220][221][222][223]. Social acceptance constitutes a critical requirement for the adoption and development of all renewable energy forms, as experience gained from onshore installations has already revealed.…”

Green Returns to Education: Does Schooling Contribute to Pro-Environmental Behaviours? Evidence from Thailand

“…More specifically, technical behaviour, such as using energy-saving appliances demands capacity and intention to accept new information and knowledge, which can be enhanced by education (Karytsas and Theodoropoulou, 2014;Welsch and Kühling, 2010). The divergence of the results between climate change concern and pro-environmental actions on the effect of education also helps ensure against the claims of a green hypocrisy by popular media.…”

On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective

“…This would allow them to be more competitive and productive and improve their income in the long run, which could be reinvested in education [69,70]. The sustainability of RES projects can also receive the benefits of education because education can empower community inhabitants, making them more knowledgeable of the benefits of the technology and more able to operate and maintain the technologies themselves [71,72]. By having more knowledge about the benefits of RES, communities are more likely to accept and embrace them [73][74][75][76][77][78].…”