Shift from conventional to RES, Modelling the public perception in Pakistan
Description
Although Pakistan poses an enormous renewable energy sources (RES) potential, their share in the energy mix of Pakistan is very low as compared to the conventional sources like fossil fuels.The Government policies, strategies and goals for the development of renewable energy also at work. Moreover,some work has also been done in technical and economic viability to harness the potential of RES at small, medium and large scale. However, a scientific work to address the basic question as to how much the general populace is willing to shift to RES from the conventional is largely missing. In this study, we have inculcated the social and psychological factor to access the public acceptance towards RES. The theory of planned behavior provided the basic model, which was then expanded to statistically measure the willingness of the public to accept the RES. For the method we conducted a survey (N = 400),primarily, among the students of National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad Pakistan. This was because these students are mostly studying energy and sciences discipline and will be future stakeholder to help the transition from conventional to the RES. They will be the implementors and makers of policies friendly towards the RES. The empirical data obtained was analyzed using the structural equation modelling. Self-identity, intention and price played the most significant role on molding the public behavior while other also had a considerable impact on the shift and cannot be ignored. Finally, a few policy suggestions were also made.