Factors influencing attitudes toward and intention of citizens' engagement with solar energy in Taiwan

Abstract

The transition to renewable energy systems is a comprehensive and challenging process requiring broad public support. Solar energy citizenship, a form of renewable energy prosumerism, is an expression of energy citizenship for implementing a sustainable energy transition. This study examined the effects of four behavioral beliefs (i.e., consumer innovativeness, impure altruism [warm glow], social-based public engagement, and solar product knowledge) on consumer intention and attitudes about solar energy citizenship. Furthermore, this study explored how perceived government incentives moderate the relationship between attitudes and intentions related to solar energy citizenship. Convenience sampling was employed for data acquisition. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed online to participants, and 370 valid responses were collected in Taiwan. The results indicated that the four aforementioned behavioral beliefs positively influenced the respondents’ attitudes toward solar energy citizenship. We discovered that their attitudes toward solar energy citizenship services were positively associated with their behavioral intention to use such services. Perceived government incentives moderated the relationship between the respondents’ attitudes and behavioral intention toward using solar energy citizenship services. These findings propose several suggestions for governments, relevant agencies, and solar energy service providers.