AUTHOR=Hatamifard Sevil , Farajallah Hosseini Seyed Jamal , Mirdamadi Seyed mehdi 

TITLE=Factors affecting the utilization of solar energy: An approach to sustainable rural development in Iran

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1108620

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2023.1108620

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=This study was conducted aimed to investigate the role of factors affecting the utilization of solar energy for the sustainable rural development of Zanjan Province. The statistical population in this study was rural households covered by solar energy technology in Zanjan Province, and 210 households were selected as a sample using Kerjesi & Morgan's table. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts before the pre-test. The reliability of the research tool was also confirmed by conducting a pre-test among thirty people other than the statistical sample and calculating Cronbach's alpha for the main scales of the questionnaire (in the range of 0.72-0.90). Data were analyzed using SPSS24 and AMOS22. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results of the structural equation modeling showed a positive and significant relationship between educational, socio-cultural, policymaking, and environmental factors and the utilization of solar energy, and these variables explained 37% of the variance of the dependent variable. However, a weak significant relationship was observed between economic and technical factors and solar energy utilization.