Society willingness to pay towards application of renewable energy for household electricity needs in Kepulauan Seribu Regency

Abstract

Abstract In the context of regional and local development, energy plays a very important role in all economic activities, so as in the small islands. The Kepulauan Seribu Regency already has an existing power system, but it needs to be improved. One of the available alternatives is by using solar power which is a type of renewable energy. Before the implementation of renewable energy, people participation in the use of such energy needs to be reviewed to obtain information about the conditions, needs, and attitudes of the local people. This research is a qualitative study using a human geography approach as its foundation. People's participation in this research is represented by the willingness to pay at the household scale on the islands with different functions in its connection with people's knowledge of renewable energy and the level of electricity consumption. The research results show that willingness to pay for types of households with businesses both in tourism and governmental islands are not influenced by knowledge of renewable energy, but rather by the amount of electricity consumption. On the other side, the knowledge affects the willingness to pay for the ordinary households on all islands. The deeper or more complete the knowledge, the more willing to pay.