Review on Determinants Influencing Solar PV Adoption in Malaysia:
A Conceptual Framework
PAULINE CHOO, JAYARAMAN KRISHNASWAMY, REE CHAN HO,
MOHD FAIZAL BIN FAUZAN
Taylor’s Business School,
Taylor’s University,
Subang Jaya, Selangor,
MALAYSIA
Abstract: - The aim of the paper is to review extensively the extent of the adoption of solar PV panel
installation in residential areas to get an idea of the extraction of the available solar energy. Elaborate content
analysis is provided for the extraction of renewable energy and sustainable energy security measures which are
the crucial functions of the installation of solar PV panels. The study proposes a research framework with the
help of literature by applying the Theory of Planned Behavior model with determinants factors that affect the
adoption of solar PV panel installation namely, attitude, subjective norm, availability, affordability of cost,
efficiency, and acceptability. The present study is expected to contribute to the literature by shedding light on
the identified sustainable energy security practices in the context of solar energy. Further, the study is an eye
opener to create awareness of the alternative measures of generating electricity using free natural resources.
Key-Words: - Malaysia Solar PV Adoption, Sustainable Energy Security, Theory Planned Behavior, Attitude,
Subjective norm, Availability, Affordability, Efficiency, Acceptability.
Received: June 2, 2022. Revised: November 4, 2022. Accepted: December 4, 2022. Published: December 31, 2022.
1 Introduction
The role of energy in the everyday basis of human
extends to body functions, food preparation, and
social activities such as agriculture, transportation,
industrial activities, communication, and so on.
According to [1] the dependency on energy
increased through the age of Industrial 4.0,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, and Big
Data generation. However, the dependency on the
energy sourced from depleting resources of fossil
fuel components, such as coal, natural gas, and
petroleum has its concern. In [2] the authors argued
that these high dependencies should pave the road
for policymakers to propose alternative approaches
to energy generation that also can reduce carbon
footprints.
The high energy demand over the supply
provides evidence that the discourse around energy
security is highly warranted in policymaking, [3].
This is supported by [4] who emphasized that
energy security is an issue that is critical to
policymakers, businesses, and communities that are
dependent on an uninterrupted energy supply.
Around the world, China is becoming the world’s
largest energy consumer at 3381 million tons of oil
equivalent (Mtoe) since 2009 due to its vast
economic growth and industrialization revolution.
In Malaysia, the energy consumption is recorded at
88 Mtoe [5], but the demand is increasing in 2018
which a growth rate of 2.3%.
According to [6] the demand rate surpassing the
supply rate led to a high dependence on fossil fuels
and imported energy in Malaysia. For example,
more than 80% of Malaysia’s electricity sources are
from coal and natural gas. However, the coal
consumed in the processing power plants is mostly
imported from South Africa, Australia, and
Indonesia [7]. This compels an argument that
despite the economic identity of Malaysia as an oil
producer, the dependency on foreign resources
(import resources) is still higher. Furthermore, the
projected lane of Malaysia to become a net energy
importer by the end of 2030 will not be realized
unless new energy sources are developed within the
country to fulfill the demands. Thus, there is a need
to propose an alternative to energy consumption
especially an electricity-based alternative to ensure
the sustainability of energy in a long run.
One of the common alternatives to energy
resources is solar energy. Solar energy is a type of
energy that is harvested from the sun, [8]. In [9] the
authors listed several advantages of solar energy.
First, the properties of solar energy are abundant
and renewable energy. Secondly, solar energy is a
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dependable source of energy due to its function that
is not exhaustible thus providing solid and
increasing output efficiencies than other sources of
energy. The utilization of solar energy also proved
to be free from any detrimental impact on the
ecosystem. Lastly, the system of solar energy is
flexible and can be utilized in village systems,
industrial operations, and homes, and is affordable
compared to other energy sources. The driving
force behind solar energy is the amount of energy it
is able to convert into electricity.
However, solar energy is highly dependent on
the amount of sun available which is solar radiation.
This provides an advantage to Asian countries as
the high sunshine duration per year led them to
receive higher solar radiation compared to other
temperate countries [9]. This relates to the system
of solar photovoltaic (PV) applications for
electricity generation in Malaysia. Solar PV energy
is defined as the direct translation of solar
illumination (radiation) into electricity, [10]. The
application of PV in tropical countries such as
Malaysia with hot and sunny climates is
appropriate due to the suitable sun exposure of
roughly 4.0-4.9 kWh/m2/day [11]. This prompts
the PV application of Large Scale Solar (LSS) and
Rooftop Solar in Malaysia.
According to [12] the advantages of solar
energy (PV) extend toward wide-range aspects of
environmental, economic, technological,
distributional, and social impacts. In [13]
the authors stated that there is a significant positive
correlation between the number of energy
efficiency measures and the reduction of household
electricity usage. This shows that the PV
application also benefits the users economically
besides the environmental impact. In [14] the
authors listed several benefits of adopting Solar PV.
They reported that Solar PV has great security
value attributed to the potential of reducing outages,
and as the alternative backup power source
available during outages. Besides that, they found
the role of Solar PV to reduce carbon emissions
thus reducing compliance costs or carbon taxes,
and lessening the impact of climate change due to
ecosystem damage.
The socio-economic implication inclines toward
the job opportunity created by the PV system
including the installation process. Despite the great
benefits of Solar PV, there is a concern about the
cost of installation assumed by consumers.
According to [15] the low adoption of PV is
affected by net economic impacts on both the
utilities and retail rates. Hence, the aim of this
study is explained in the section below.
1.1 Research Objective
The purpose of this research is to review the current
state of solar PV adoption in Malaysia and
determine the factors associated with solar PV
adoption based on past studies. Then, proceed to
propose a conceptual framework relating to the
intention of solar PV adoption in Malaysia as a
result of this paper. The focus on solar PV centrally
lies in maximizing the adoption and reducing the
cost of installation, [16]. This paper attempts to
review factors associated with solar PV adoption
and proceed to propose a conceptual idea according
to reviewed studies. The research questions (RQs)
identified in this paper stated as follows:
RQ1: What is the current state of solar PV adoption
in Malaysia?
RQ2: What are the factors associated with solar PV
adoption based on past studies?
2 Literature Review
2.1 The State of Solar Energy in Malaysia
Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA)
Malaysia was established in 2011 to administer and
manage the implementation of the feed-in tariff
(FiT) mechanism mandated under the Renewable
Energy Act 2011, [17]. This mechanism under
SEDA allowed consumers to sell electricity
generated from renewable resources (up to 30MW)
to power utility firms through the process known as
FiT implementation. Solar PV is among the
renewable energy included for FiT eligibility.
According to [18] the application for FiT quota of
Solar PV was positive due to its familiarity with
electricity generation compared to other renewable
sources.
Encouragement towards adopting Solar PV is
extended after the FiT scheme ended. The
Malaysian government introduced the initiative of
Net Energy Metering (NEM) through Eleventh
Malaysia Plan. The NEM aimed to lower the cost
of monthly electricity for consumers through the
earned from the excess generated energy. The
energy produced by the installed Solar PV system
will be utilized first, and the excess energy can be
exported and sold to the distribution licensee.
Malaysian government limited the solar panel
installation of consumers accredited by SEDA
approval. Currently, there are 157 registered Solar
PV service providers listed on the SEDA official
web portal, [19]. These providers are responsible to
help consumers with the process of application and
installation of solar PV. The role of providers in
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supporting the consumers with the process of Solar
PV installation and after-support service is
emphasized by Qureshi et al., (2017) [20].
The state of solar PV (energy) in Malaysia is
improving through the stated initiatives by the
Malaysian government. Through each Malaysian
Plan, the awareness towards heavy reliance on non-
renewable energy resources was identified, thus
igniting several plans that open an opportunity for
Solar Energy. The adoption of solar PV is crucial
from various perspectives including efficiency,
economic, environmental, and sustainability. One
of the effective actions to encourage adoption is
through policies. Local policies towards solar
energy exert a substantial impact on its adoption at
the household level, [21].
2.2 Renewable Energy Policies in Malaysia
In Malaysia, the New Economic Policy (NEP 1971-
1975) of the Second Malaysia Plan paved the way
toward sustainable development. Due to the global
oil issues causing uncertainty in prices and supply,
the Malaysian government initiated an energy
efficiency initiative with few policies on hand, [22],
[23]. The first policy under National Petroleum
Policy (1975) under Third Malaysia Plan (1976-
1980) did not cover the electrical sector despite the
focus on petroleum resources. The Four Fuel Policy
1981 (4FDP 1981) aimed to balance the usage of
oil, gas, coal, and hydroelectricity to address the
overdependence on crude oil as primary energy.
However, this intervention in new energy resources
(hydroelectricity) was lacking in awareness among
the mass public.
The policy was revised in the Eight Malaysia
Plan (2001-2005) with Renewable Energy Sources
(RES) formally presented as the fifth fuel in the
energy mix known as Five-Fuel Diversification
Policy 2001 (5FDP 2001). Through this policy, the
harnessing of solar energy was emphasized among
other energy, [11]. The move towards renewable
energy was extended in the latest Eleventh
Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) which targets to
achieve 20% of renewable energy in the energy
mix by the year 2025. In this plan, the focus was to
increase the solar energy generation capacity which
potentially opens new business opportunities for
big companies, SMEs, micro businesses, and
households, [24], [25].
Despite the efforts, there is a stream of
dissatisfaction among consumers of renewable
energy due to poor community engagement, and
cost-issue with unmatched pricing versus tariff,
[26]. The issue with the Solar PV cost and other
barriers was cited by scholars in their studies
regarding Solar PV presented in the next section.
2.3 Past Studies on Solar PV Adoption
A case study in [20] reported that the barriers to
Solar PV adoption included the cost bear by
consumers to buy and install, the complexity and
difficulty of using multiple appliances at the same
time, shortages of vendors and technical support,
and lack of financial support by the government at
the household level. In [27] they found that concern
about electricity increase rates, economic factors,
and future planning was the deciding factor for
households to adopt Solar PV. They also reported
that peer pressure and the solar installation
processes are also the determining factors for the
adoption.
Also, [27] emphasized the importance of a
marketing base to provide information to
households on the information relating to solar-
generated electricity, future adoption, and solar
installers to disseminate more awareness on Solar
PV benefits. This is proved by the study conducted
by [28] among households in Sweden. Their study
focused to establish an information campaign as a
medium to encourage Solar PV adoption among
households. The result of their study showed that
informational campaign significantly drives a
positive effect on Solar PV adoption rates with a 29%
increase in the submitted application. Another
study by [29] identified a list of barriers and
motivations to Solar PV adoption to generate
factors of the adoption among households in
Santiago, Chile. They presented factors such as
information that is straightforward to provide a
comparison, attractive financial incentives, and
installation-aspect as the strategies to encourage
Solar PV adoptions.
Qualitative semi-structured interviews among
households were used by [30] to identify the case
of Solar PV adoption in Finland. They reported that
the households that adopted Solar PV had a good
satisfaction rate with their PV plant through the
pleasure of having a mechanism of pollution-free
energy. Most of the adopters were reported to
enlarge their Solar PV system. It was also
highlighted in the study that the experts and peers-
adopters played a big role to provide advice and co-
operate with information on the installation
process, costs, and energy amount, [30]. A similar
qualitative methodology was utilized in [31]. Their
study relates to barriers and motivation to Solar PV
adoption among Nigerian households. Their
findings point to the economical barrier citing a
lack of financial commitment and high capital costs
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to adopt Solar PV. The motivational aspects were
energy saver option, reliance on fewer power
outages, and greater financial access.
In Malaysia, the state of Solar PV adoption is
relatively new. According to [32] the deployment
of Solar PV in Malaysia is still in the initial stage.
Despite the strong potential of Malaysia for Solar
PV adoption due to its equatorial location and the
support from the government’s initiatives through
research projects and programs, increased R&D
efforts are required to overcome the economic
barrier of high capital investment, [33]. However,
few scholars bring attention to the Solar PV
adoption state in Malaysia, [34], [35], [36], [37].
[34] conducted a study to determine the public
inclination toward adopting Solar PV in Malaysia
and utilized a quantitative survey questionnaire to
gather data from residents in Peninsular Malaysia.
Three factors were found namely, perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude to
use influenced the residents to adopt Solar PV. In
[35] the authors argued that despite the vast basic
knowledge regarding science, low-income
Malaysians had average awareness of solar energy.
However, the respondents had a high level of
acceptance of the Malaysian government’s plans
for solar energy compelled by the increase in their
household incomes. In [36] the authors investigated
the behavioral intention of non-users in Klang
Valley towards their inclination toward Solar PV.
They found the aspect of cost has a significantly
higher impact compared to knowledge and
facilitation.
Through a survey questionnaire methodology to
non-solar PV users in Klang Valley, Malaysia by
[37] the authors found that the aspect of being
aware of the environment-sustainability and
knowledge are the biggest contributor to the
intention to adopt Solar PV. The aspect of
usefulness also mediates the relationship as well.
The studies of Solar PV adoption in Malaysia
showed that the information relating to Solar PV on
the environmental benefit, economic benefit, and
usefulness are at the state of needing improvement.
They further stressed the need for aggressive
Research and Development (R&D) program. To
adhere to and reduce the cost of Solar PV, the
government is encouraged to improve the R&D and
capital investment for integration of solar
manufacturing facilities to boost growth, thus, in
line with the effective tool for sustainable energy
security, [38].
In [32] the authors highlighted that the lack of
policy towards suitable renewable energy is one of
the factors for the low adoption. The concern on
sustainability and depletion of fossil fuel and peak
oil issues also addressed the need for energy
security. Renewable energy source, solar
particularly is warranted to provide energy security,
[38]. The policy around energy security revolves
around strategic plans to reduce the risk of supply
interruptions to an acceptable level. These plans
should be addressed and adjusted to ensure a steady
supply of inexpensive energy to cater to demand,
[6], [39], [40].
Global policymakers and industry players are
striving into fostering Solar PV adoption despite
the slow growth of consumers’ interest. Presented
studies by past scholars showed that there are
multiple challenges in adopting Solar PV from
consumer (household) perspectives. Table 1
summarised the challenges to adopting Solar PV
based on past studies.
3 Research Methodology
This study begins by identifying the research gap
by conducting reviews from various databases in
scholarly literature. Among the selected scholarly
sources are Science Direct, Google Scholar,
ProQuest, JSTOR, and Research Gate. These
sources are the primary sources to review the
published manuscripts regarding Solar PV adoption.
In addition, information regarding the initiatives
and policies of Solar PV in Malaysia was obtained
from the government’s documents and portal. Next,
a thorough review was performed in answering the
RQs. Finally, based on the findings from the
literature review, this study developed a conceptual
research framework on the intention of solar PV
adoption in Malaysia.
4 Review Analysis and Findings
After reviewing selected journal articles listed in
Table 1, it is found that cost was regularly
mentioned by past scholars, [20], [27], [29], [31],
[36] as the challenge for households to adopt Solar
PV. The perceived higher cost of owning Solar PV
led them to believe it is unparallel to their income
range compared to traditional electricity-based
energy. This is supported by [41] who mentioned
that the Solar PV installations scale is not cost-
competitive as opposed to fossil-fuel power plants.
The growing energy mix of solar power is only
attainable through low-cost storage, [42].
Past scholars [20], [27], [29], [30] also cited the
installation process of Solar PV as one of the
barriers to owning renewable energy. The
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installation process is considered a major part of
Solar PV due to the need to have a trusted
vendor which will provide regular services through
the availability of experts and technicians. The
perception that the vendors are less familiar with
Solar PV led to a lack of interest from the users.
Besides that, there is also a factor of usefulness
which is cited by several past scholars, [20], [34],
[37]. This includes the adaptation towards Solar PV
homes, ease of using the appliances, and the useful
factors weighted more than the traditional
electricity system. Most past scholars, [27], [28],
[29], [35], [37], stressed the importance of
information awareness on knowledge of adopting
Solar PV. The awareness towards deficiencies of
natural resources and the environment can be
further improved with the campaign by the
government, subsidies incentives, good marketing
strategies, and also education from an early age.
This will allow the last challenge which is the
attitude, [34], towards Solar PV inherent to a
positive adoption. Attitudes play a significant role
to form the intentions of households in adopting
Solar PV, [43]. The attitude may vary in relation to
the financial access linked with knowledge.
According to [44] individuals with financial
resources tend to adopt Solar PV due to
environmental values satisfaction while low-
financial resources individuals worried about
limited financial access and fear of power outages.
One of the gaps identified was the majority of
the researchers are from the perspective of western
countries and only a few articles are from the
Malaysian perspective, [35], [36], [46]. The usage
of solar PV technology in the household context
has been studied in certain research. Other studies
have looked at the governmental policy, and
commercial views, and concluded that PV solar
systems are becoming more acceptable and used by
people all around the world, [46]. Lacking research
analysis and discussion on Malaysian solar PV
adoption may be due to the insensitivity of the
consumer viewpoint of solar power usage and also
a handful of articles might not be published in
Scopus-indexed journals, [34].
Secondly, it is found that energy security is
purely used as an assessment with indicators to
evaluate a country’s availability of energy sources
at an affordable price with a scoring system, [6],
[45]. Only a few research journal articles are
available on sustainable energy security (SES),
[53], [61]. This paper profoundly used sustainable
energy security as the determinant or factor that
explains the influence of adopting solar PV in
Malaysia presented in the next section.
4.1 Proposed Conceptual Framework of
Solar PV Adoption in Malaysia
This study integrates the socioeconomics (attitude,
subjective norms) and sustainability concerns
(sustainable energy security dimensions) to relate
to the attitudes and behaviors of Malaysian
households in adopting Solar PV. These variables
align with the past studies that cited households’
behavior and attitudes as one of the adoption
factors [36] towards Solar PV adoption. This study
proposes the importance of Sustainable Energy
Security (SES) as well as the determinants to
evaluate society’s awareness. Energy security is
commonly used to evaluate a country’s
uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an
affordable cost with a scoring system [6, 45]. The
concept of SES was first introduced by [61] to
highlight the emerging trends in energy security
and sustainability for India with a view to
answering the question ‘Is Sustainable Energy
Security (SES) in India increasing or decreasing?’.
[61] defined SES as the “provisioning of
uninterrupted energy services in an affordable,
equitable, efficient in an environmentally benign
manner”.
According to [40] the concept of Energy
Security follows four dimensions, namely
Affordability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and
Availability. The affordability dimension refers to
the cost of energy in relation to the energy tariff
and electricity tariff for different sectors. This
speaks to whether the price of owning energy is
equitable or cheaper than traditional electrical
energy. For the accessibility dimension, the concept
refers to good access to energy for all parts
including rural and developed areas. The
acceptability dimension relates to the acceptance of
people and the government toward achieving
renewable energy. The last dimension of the
Energy Security concept is Availability. This
dimension refers to the availability of resources
(natural and renewable) in each country to serve the
people and economies.
To provide a framework for this study, the
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is applied as
proposed by [46] to explore the Solar PV system at
the household level. Previous literature review
reveals that various determinants that reflect and
influence behavioral intention to use solar PV
systems that will lead to actual behavior, include
intention, willingness, and plan to use solar PV
systems in the near future. Hence, determinants
such as pricing, technology advancement, and
financial soundness of the households from
previous studies captured the behavioral intention
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to use solar PV systems by applying TPB, [28],
[36], [47].
TPB explained a perception based on a person’s
thoughts or feelings towards using solar PV, [48].
Previous experience can influence individual
attitudes and therefore help or hinder individual
intentions to purchase. This study also brings the
definition of solar PV security from an energy
security perspective where it refers to the
continuous availability of energy sources at an
affordable price, [45].
The Sustainable Energy Security (SES)
dimensions proposed by [61] were also identified
as determinants for Solar PV adoption which
consisted of four dimensions that are availability,
affordability, efficiency, and acceptability
(environment). Fig.1 shows the proposed
conceptual research framework of this study. The
following section explained the determinants from
the perspective of solar PV adoption.
4.1.1 Attitude
Attitude is defined as an individual’s evaluation of
a particular behaviour as favourable or
unfavourable, [48]. It is considered as consumers’
positive or negative opinions towards solar PV use.
These optimistic and pessimistic opinions are based
on the advantages and consequences of solar PV
from the perspective of social, environmental, and
economic. A study by [49] revealed that consumers’
intention and willingness to pay for RE are
positively associated with attitude. This is due to
opinions ranging that prevailing energy and
climatic problems (dependence on fossil fuel,
global warming, poor air quality, and climate
change) could be minimized by deploying RE. [46]
also reveals that attitude has a strong positive effect
on the intention to use PV solar technology in the
household.
4.1.2 Subjective Norm
Subjective norm is defined as the degree to which
an individual perceives that most people who are
important to him think he should or should not use
the system, [50], [51]. The subjective norm, which
is the social factor, refers to the social pressure for
performing and not performing the behavior. The
subjective norm can be academically defined in a
way that it refers to the degree to which an
individual perceives that he should or should not
use the system based on the thought of the people
who are very important to the individual refer as
significant others (e.g., parents, spouse, friends,
teachers, neighbors), [50], [51]. A study by [52]
found that the value belief norm theory positively
affects behavioral intention.
4.1.3 Availability
Government policies, political factors, and
geopolitical factors can affect the availability of the
solar PV system in a country. Sustainable energy
practices vary significantly due to the variation in
population size, availability of natural resources, as
well as the level of industrialization and
urbanization, [53], [54]. The availability of
compatible infrastructure systems is vital for
providing stable and uninterrupted solar PV
systems. The infrastructure system includes supply
and distribution facilities, technical facilities,
training, and developing awareness about the solar
PV system. Findings from past scholars, [20], [27],
[29], [30], emphasized these availabilities as an
adoption factor for Solar PV.
4.1.4 Affordability of Cost
The cost has been widely cited as the major
contributor to the adoption of Solar PV. Past
scholars, [20], [27], [29], [31], [36], provided
empirical evidence that cost is one of the
challenges. The high solar cost works as a barrier to
solar adoption while the low cost works as the
driver of solar adoption, [55], [56]. The price of a
solar PV system determines its affordability of
solar PV, thus there are several factors for instance
price of solar PV, price volatility, supply, demand,
decentralization, and market competition of solar
PV systems. Therefore, measuring the relevance of
investment and cost of solar systems is important to
consider. This is important as the magnitude of the
cost and investment behind the installation of solar
PV systems plays a crucial role to influence the
behavioral intention of an individual. Thus, this
study refers to affordability as the ability to pay for
a unit of energy for a particular energy service that
is a function of the retail price of energy and
consumers' ability to pay for it.
4.1.5 Efficiency in Technology
Technology plays a crucial role in evaluating the
sustainability of energy. Whereas, the cost of
technology, greenhouse gas emission reduction
target and production target influence the selection
of technology. Moreover, the environmental policy
by the government also affects the selection of
technology such as government tax policy for fossil
carbon. Non-user believe that the quality of the
solar PV system is also very important to reap
higher utility, [57], [58], [59]. The existing
technical capacity and infrastructure system can
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affect the diffusion of the solar PV system, [58].
This is because adopting highly reliable and
effective technology is essential, [60].
4.1.6 Acceptability of Environment
Acceptability links to environmental aspects, and
social and cultural barriers that shows the
environmental compatibility of the energy product
considering the neighboring territory and
environmental science, [61]. Environmental
indicators highlight the reduction or decrease of
carbon emissions, biodiversity, noise pollution, air
pollution, usage of the land, and exhaustion of
natural resources, [62], [63], [64]. Consumer
perception of environmental concerns affects the
acceptance of solar adoption, [65]. The households’
willingness to adopt Solar PV is potentially due to
the environmental factor, [66]. This is evidenced by
[37] the authors found that awareness of the
environment is a substantial indicator for
consumers to adopt Solar PV.
5 Conclusion
Through reviewing the state of solar energy in
Malaysia encompassing policies and government
intervention, it is found that Malaysia has
enormous potential in adopting Solar PV,
especially with the positive reaction towards the
quota released for Solar PV installation, [18]. This
shows that there is demand for Malaysians to use
Solar PV to generate electricity, but the adoption
rate is relatively low, [36]. This led to answering
the first RQ on what hinders this. What are the
factors that affect the Solar PV adoption rate in
Malaysia?
From the literature review, this study
successfully constructed a conceptual framework
for Solar PV adoption in Malaysia from the
findings which answered the second RQ. The
proposed conceptual research frameworks took
account of the findings from past studies conducted
on Solar PV adoption presented through various
international geographical locations including
Malaysia. This study adopts the Theory of Planned
Behaviour (TPB) to explore the Solar PV system at
the household level. It also discovered the
importance of the Sustainable Energy Security
(SES) concept used as the determinant to reflect
and influence behavioral intention to use solar PV
systems, including intention, willingness, and plan
to use solar PV systems in the near future.
Therefore, six variables were included presenting
the influence factor towards the adoption of Solar
PV among Malaysians. These variables namely
Attitude, Subjective Norm, Availability,
Affordability, Efficiency, and Acceptability
(Environment) were derived from past scholars’
theoretical statements and also based on their
empirical evidence of research.
This study has instigated the updated discussion
and reviews on Solar PV adoption globally. Next,
statistical data is needed to verify the relevancy of
the conceptual research framework for future work.
Further work is recommended to present a follow-
up framework to support the understanding of how
each of the variables are interacting through
statistical evidence. This will also provide a robust
statement on why these variables are the
contributor to Solar PV adoption in Malaysia.
This paper may support the Malaysian
government to implement stronger policies based
on the principal aim of the Solar Energy program.
The policies would complement the contributor
factors such as cost, and availability inherent by
future users of Solar PV. The six variables
suggested will also inform the government on the
practical aspects that influence the adoption reasons
for the consumers. This study will also create
awareness and commercialization value to the
community and Solar PV providers on the
influential aspects pointed towards Solar PV
adoption.
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Ree Chan Ho, Mohd Faizal Bin Fauzan
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E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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Ree Chan Ho, Mohd Faizal Bin Fauzan
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Pauline Choo, Jayaraman Krishnaswamy,
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E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
Pauline Choo carried out the research and paper
writing.
Jayaraman Krishnaswamy support in funding
acquisition and provide theoretical content.
Ree Chan Ho has supervision and review paper
writing.
Mohd Faizal Bin Fauzan has provide the literature
content.
Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself
This research was supported by Ministry of
Education (MOE) Malaysia through
Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
(FRGS/1/2019/SS01/TAYLOR/01/1). We also
want to thank to the Government of Malaysia
which provide MyBrain15 program for the
sponsoring this work under the self-fund research
grant and L00022 from Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Malaysia.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.e
n_US
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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.127
Pauline Choo, Jayaraman Krishnaswamy,
Ree Chan Ho, Mohd Faizal Bin Fauzan
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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Fig.1: Conceptual Research Framework - Sustainable Energy Security Practices in extended Theory of Planned
Behavior
Table 1. Summary of Selected Past Studies on Solar PV Adoption
Authors
Methodology and
Sample
Geographical Location
Rai, Reeves, and
Margolis (2016)
[27]
Quantitative Survey /
Households
United States of America
Qureshi, Ullah, and
Arentsen (2017)
[20]
Quantitative Survey /
Consumers
Pakistan
Ahmad, Mat Tahar,
Cheng and Yao
(2017) [34]
Quantitative Survey /
Residents
Malaysia
Walters, Kaminsky,
and Gottschamer
(2018) [29]
Qualitative Interview /
Households
Chile
Karjalainen and
Ahyenniemi (2019)
[30]
Qualitative Interview /
Households
Finland
Ugulu (2019) [32]
Qualitative Interview /
Households
Nigeria
Palm and Lantz
(2020) [28]
Qualitative Interview /
Households
Sweden
Malik and Ayop
(2020) [35]
Qualitative Interview /
Households
Malaysia
Lau et al. (2020)
[36]
Qualitative / Non-
Users
Malaysia
Cheam, Lau, and
Wei (2021) [37]
Qualitative Interview /
Non-PV users
Malaysia
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT
DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.127
Pauline Choo, Jayaraman Krishnaswamy,
Ree Chan Ho, Mohd Faizal Bin Fauzan
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
1351
Volume 18, 2022