Examensarbete i Hållbar Utveckling 33 Householders’ Perspective on Photovoltaic Application in Thailand Kantamala Pokapanich INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER Householders’ Perspective on Photovoltaic Application in Thailand Applicant Kantamala Pokapanich Thesis Supervisor Cristian Alarcon Ferrari Master’s Program in Sustainable Development Uppsala University Acknowledgement This study could not have been completed without those who are giving me support. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor; Cristian Alarcon Ferrari for his guidance, support and useful feedback on my work. The facilities provided by Uppsala University also provided a convenient working environment, while the MSD teaching staff put me back on track, which improved the quality of my thesis. I would also like to thank Aom, Nook, Lordto, Toory, Jan, Bobby and Ake for their indispensable help with distributing the surveys, as well as Linda and Friedel who shape my thesis patiently. I would not have enjoyed life during this two year lasting master program without my lovely little gang and MSD classmates; they just warmed Sweden for me. I would like to thank the Thai students and Thai community in Uppsala as well, for the superb food and feels-like-home atmosphere. All friends back home additionally deserve my gratefulness for their helps. Also, I would like to thank Erik for his sweet mental support; my days would be dim without him. Finally I have to give a big thank you to my family for their endless support. They always stand behind me and believe in all the things I do. I would like to especially thank my sisters, Jeab and Jib, for their care and friend-like advice. Householders’ Perspective on Photovoltaic Application in Thailand| i Abstract This study aims to explore householders’ perspective on photovoltaic application in Thailand using surveys which are distributed in a study area, Khon Kaen. The target groups are residents older than 15 years old who live in an urbanized area. There were no limitations for gender, level of income or education and living region in the study area. The purpose of this is to obtain different perspectives from different groups of people. The questions in the survey are designed to find out if solar home system interests those surveyed and what reasons they have to support their decision. The results show that 1) most of the householders are interested in adopting this technology and said ‘yes’, mainly because of environmental advantages although there are some barriers that block their access to this technology 2) some of them are considering it and answered ‘maybe’ but would change their answer to ‘yes’ if the technology would improve according to their conditions 3) few of them said ‘no’ and indicated financial reasons as the main barrier. When relating respondents’ answers to environmental awareness, it is shown that all of them provide a similar definition of ‘environment’. They also rate themselves quite high when it comes to environmental awareness. However, their answers about the solar home system depend on other issues that, in their perception, are more important than the environment. Keywords: solar energy, householder’s perspective, sustainability, renewable energy, Thailand Householders’ Perspective on Photovoltaic Application in Thailand| ii Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research context .................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research goal ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Research question ................................................................................................................................................ 3 2. Background .................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Sustainable Energy .............................................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Solar energy as an alternative ......................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Thailand, photovoltaic solar home systems and stakeholder involvement ................................. 6 3. Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 Theory of access ................................................................................................................................................. 11 3.2 Innovation Diffusion Theory ........................................................................................................................ 13 4. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................... 17 4.1 Scientific approach ........................................................................................................................................... 17 4.1.1 Literature selection and collection .................................................................................................... 17 4.1.2 Choice of methodology ........................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Study area ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 4.2.1 Study area: Khon Kaen............................................................................................................................ 20 4.2.2 Data collection ............................................................................................................................................ 22 5. Results ........................................................................................................................................................................... 23 5.1 General information ......................................................................................................................................... 23 5.2 Specification on PV ........................................................................................................................................... 24 5.3 Results on environmental awareness ....................................................................................................... 28 6. Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................................... 29 7. Discussion .................................................................................................................................................................... 33 8. Research limitation and recommendation for future study ................................................................... 37 8. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 38 References ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41 Appendix 1: Original questionnaire in Thai ....................................................................................................... 44 Appendix 2: Questionnaire in English................................................................................................................... 48 Householders’ Perspective on Photovoltaic Application in Thailand| iii 1. Introduction 1.1 Research context Nowadays, the world energy use is increasing and it results in relatively high prices of non-renewable fuel sources such as fossil fuel. Liquid consumption (i.e. oil and petroleum) has become the world’s slowest growing energy source with a predicted annual increase in demand of 0.9 percent between 2007 to 2035. Renewable energy sources on the other hand, are, not surprisingly, presented as the fastest growing energy source with a predicted 2.6 percent increase per year (EIA 2010, p. 11). It is reasonable to promote renewable energy, not only when considering oil prices but also the environmental impact of fossil fuel usage. This situation affects other energy sectors and it thus urges many countries to find alternatives that are most suitable to their domestic conditions. Thailand is one of the countries that suffer from the oil price crisis to such an extent that alternative sources have been researched and developed for years. As a country situated in South East Asia between the 6th and 20th latitude north of the equator (Jivacate 1994, p. 57), the whole of Thailand receives steady amounts of sunrays all year long. Solar energy, as a consequence, seems to be a good choice since it is renewable and has environmental benefits such as an almost complete lack of air emissions and waste (Tsoutsos, Frantzeskaki & Gekas 2005). When it comes to the electricity