Understanding Stakeholders’ Views and the Influence of the Socio-Cultural Dimension on the Adoption of Solar Energy Technology in Lebanon
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background on the Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technology
2.1. Diffusion of Innovation
2.2. Limitations of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory
2.3. Technology Attributes
2.4. Market and Financing Incentives
2.5. Socio-Cultural Factors
Contribution of Socio-Cultural Factors
3. Methods
3.1. Stakeholder Analysis
3.2. Data Collection and Analysis
4. Results
4.1. Technology Attributes and Investment
We developed a report to show in numbers how much investors are saving their growth rate and size of investments. We use this report to market the benefits of solar PV. It gives people numbers to trust, because there is a lot of scepticism on this in Lebanon… many of the industries we are working with wouldn’t have invested if it were not for the financial incentive (low interest loan) provided to them.
We always try to prioritize what the client wants. We offer advice and we offer a trial system for a short time to check its efficiency and if performance lives up to the expectations.
While interacting with various households, I often notice that most of them have the habit of turning on the conventional water boiler while the electricity is provided from private generators—using fixed monthly fees—based as a supplement of the national utility grid (due to frequent shut down of the latter). So, they have the attitude of making optimal use of the subscribed amperes they are entitled to use following the energy contract they have. This means that they have no motivation to install SWHs.
I interact with a large number of clients and through contact with them I often hear comments that they delay the purchase of a SWH for a certain time when they have less (other) financial commitments. For instance, our sales decrease when schools’ curricula start and holiday periods commence. However, they increase in summer.
I have an engineering background and I am interested in renewable energy technologies. I even considered installing a wind turbine for my factory but settled for a collective PV system.
In the future solar PV development should be brought to a new level; for instance, by making collective investments among citizens in local communities.
4.2. Market Performance
If we didn’t contribute ourselves with our own money to guarantee these un-bankable end users, they could have never received the loan.
The UNDP managed projects are seen as good references for us. They were very helpful to provide knowledge; especially in the sense that they provide training sessions and information on the design of the projects which we submit to them. In other words, it is a bidirectional learning process. We are a new company and we lack knowledge in certain areas. So UNDP managed to realize projects and acted as consultants to us.
We work with European technology suppliers and interact with the German market for monitoring systems and inverters, since most of our clients have the opinion that by acquiring European products they get guaranteed high quality.
4.3. Socio-Cultural Factors
Here in the village people influence each other especially when someone installed a SWH and is satisfied; they immediately spread positive words-of-mouth.
Poor communities are still in need for supportive programs to tackle the renewable energy technologies uptake obstacles.
The interaction between us and the clients differ across regions. For instance, in a centralized region (i.e., in Beirut and its suburbs) people have a busier lifestyle and therefore often do not have the time available to visit technology suppliers and have face-to-face communication with them. Most the interactions are either by phone or by email. Yet, here in Tripoli (a large city in North Lebanon) clients prefer to make a visit to our company and check the available systems.
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions and Future Implications
- At the household level—the main findings can be grouped into three categories. First, end user characteristics are important to understand when considering adoption decision-making. The most important are: the income level and how these guarantee access to capital; education; and, to some extent, how family lifecycle settings influence householders’ financial commitments and priorities and thus drive the propensity to invest in renewable energy solutions. Second, the costs and benefits of investing in a solar energy system are divided between monetary (the investment cost and savings) and non-monetary aspects (such as comfort and compatibility, which depend on the physical context and cultural expectations of the households). This category deals with the attributes of the technology and also involves the real and perceived risks and uncertainties that play a crucial role in the Lebanese context. Third, a factor that has received less attention concerns the particular geographic influence on the end users. This factor is broad enough not to be limited to just the physical classification of rural and urban areas across different regions. It also includes the intensity of social ties and interaction between end users and other stakeholders (such as technology suppliers), thus reflecting the importance of local and regional networks. Furthermore, the individual openness and mentality of the people tend to vary between different Lebanese regions, shaping the means of interaction between them and the other stakeholders, thus reflecting the rather uneven diffusion patterns.
- At the corporate firm level—several similarities appear comparable with individuals at the household level, while others remain specific to the corporate level. First, the individual characteristics of the decision maker are important to acknowledge. One concerns how education specialization affects the propensity to adopt when considering renewable energy solutions. Second, the costs and benefits of investing in a renewable energy solution are considered important. This relates to the awareness level of the decision-maker to assess renewable energy solutions so as to reduce the cost of consumed energy and also undertake the appropriate networking and research to find the most convenient investment decision. The third factor concerns the competitive advantage and the market image that a company or organization will acquire in the market. For instance, the adopter will enhance the market image of the corporation through their environmental involvement and responding to a leading attribute in considering innovative solutions. Thus, these will also result in increasing customer attraction to organization values. Furthermore, the social status and public image were found to be important to firms. Various decision makers at the corporate level were concerned about the social identity of their firms and preferred specific foreign high quality products to convey this identity. It revealed the importance given to the socio-cultural dimension in marketing strategy in particular, and the adoption process at large.
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
NEEAP | National Energy Efficiency Action Plan |
NGO | Non-Governmental Organization |
SWH | Solar Water Heating System |
PV | Photovoltaics |
UNDP | United Nations Development Program |
SHAAMS | Strategic Hubs for the Analysis and Acceleration of the Mediterranean Solar Sector |
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Stakeholders | Roles | Experienced Challenges and Drivers |
---|---|---|
International Cooperation Agency (project managers of projects) | Supports the government in achieving sustainable goals. Initiates and shapes the market based on the needs of the country. | Observes highly bureaucratic procedures when dealing with government institutions; limited flexibility in changing grid regulations when dealing with the national utility provider; highly interested and conscious private sector end users; uncertainty from end users, shifting in the areas of the future funds providers. |
Consultancy/advisory agent | Provides advice on the solar energy systems and proposes areas for project development. | Lack of coordination between sequential projects; need for policies to overcome technical installation barriers; competitive electricity prices. |
Private incubation firm | Creates awareness and develops market competencies. | Loss of resources due to repetition of similar target projects across the country; low coordination with actors from geographical remote areas; technical barriers in connecting to the national grid; need for continuous awareness of the public. |
Providers of solar energy technologies | Manufacture/import and sell solar energy systems to the market. | High competition between actors to take part in internationally funded projects; consumer uncertainty and financial commitments; changing end users views and attitudes takes too long. |
NGOs | Create awareness and collaborate with the public needs to tackle challenges in renewable energy markets. | Need for financing methods for poor end users; low technical knowledge of end users. |
Research institute | Calls for regulations and policies that serve market development. | Lack of availability of continuous stable funding. |
Consumers (e.g., households, corporate) | Purchase and use solar energy systems. | High investment costs of solar PV systems; reduction of energy costs; existing conventional means for energy and water heating options. |
National consultancy agency | Monitor and maintains a well-developed market through coordinating between major market actors and the government while implementing regulation. | A well-developed market with large numbers of technology suppliers and supportive financing schemes. |
Public sector institutes (ministry, research centres, technical institute) | Develop action plans and plan for policies to support the diffusion of renewable energy technologies. | Lack of policy focus; country prioritized plans; low coordination between institutions. |
Financing institutes | Provide loans for end users to install and operate their own solar energy systems. | Demand fluctuates across regions depending on the client profile, lengthy loan procedures and difficulty in pushing green technologies in market, constructive support from the national consultancy agency. |
Educational units | Provide knowledge and technical expertise to the public. | Lack of available resources for research and development; bureaucratic procedures for developing education material; availability of young local talents who are technically knowledgeable about solar energy systems. |
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Elmustapha, H.; Hoppe, T.; Bressers, H. Understanding Stakeholders’ Views and the Influence of the Socio-Cultural Dimension on the Adoption of Solar Energy Technology in Lebanon. Sustainability 2018, 10, 364. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020364
Elmustapha H, Hoppe T, Bressers H. Understanding Stakeholders’ Views and the Influence of the Socio-Cultural Dimension on the Adoption of Solar Energy Technology in Lebanon. Sustainability. 2018; 10(2):364. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020364
Chicago/Turabian StyleElmustapha, Houda, Thomas Hoppe, and Hans Bressers. 2018. "Understanding Stakeholders’ Views and the Influence of the Socio-Cultural Dimension on the Adoption of Solar Energy Technology in Lebanon" Sustainability 10, no. 2: 364. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020364