Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Energy for Sustainable Development, cilt.80, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Public acceptance of renewable energy (RE) will accelerate the transition from energy sources that cause high emissions to environmentally friendly energy sources to combat climate change. For this reason, it is crucial to investigate the adoption intentions of different target audiences. This research delves into the determinants that shape the intention of Turkish university students, who are the future decision-makers, to adopt RE within the context of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Literature: Previous research in existing literature primarily focuses on “RE awareness” and “willingness-to-pay” in Türkiye. However, RE adoption intention has remained an underexplored topic in research. Methodology: This paper investigated two frameworks within the context of TPB. The first model analyzed the effect of attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) on students' intention to adopt RE and utilized structural equation modeling. The second model extended TPB constructs with background factors (Cost of RE (CRE), awareness of RE (ARE), beliefs about the benefits of RE (BBRE), moral norms and values (MNV), and perception of neighbor's participation (PNP)) and used path analysis. A total of 418 students were surveyed. Findings: i-) The main TPB constructs (ATT, SN, PBC) are valid in explaining students' adoption intention in both models. ii-) CRE, ARE, BBRE, MNV, and PNP significantly influence the students' attitudes towards adopting RE. Additionally, ARE and PNP significantly shape students' subjective norms regarding RE adoption. Iii-) MNV and ARE positively affect the intentions of students to adopt RE. iv-) Turkish youth are willing to pay up to 10 % more to receive energy from renewable sources.