Socio-Individual Prerequisites of Energy Transition in Iran: Investigating Public Acceptance of Solar Panel Technology in Rural Areas

Abstract

Iran has inordinate natural capacity to benefit from solar energy all year. Interim plansby the Iranian government have been implemented to develop energy transition in ruralareas, however, the outcomes have not been promising so far. This research seeks toaddress the question of what factors influence villagers’ tendency towards solar panelacceptance for domestic usage. To answer the question, a survey was conducted amongresidents who had not installed the new technology in the survey time. A model basedon the modified framework of the Technology Acceptance Model for energy transitionwas developed and data was collected from the northern part of Iran—Mazandaranprovince. The data revealed that through the mediating role of attitude, the strongesteffect on adoption intention relates to perceived usefulness. The paper discusses whysolar energy technology is not welcomed in the studied community. The findingscontribute to increase our knowledge about underlying factors on the development ofpublic adoption of renewable energies in a developing country.