Empowering Sustainability: Understanding Determinants of Consumer Investment in Microgrid Technology in the UAE

Hussain Abdalla Sajwani (), Bassel Soudan and Abdul Ghani Olabi
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Hussain Abdalla Sajwani: Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates
Bassel Soudan: Department of Computer Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates
Abdul Ghani Olabi: Sustainable Energy and Power Systems Research Centre, Research Institute of Sciences & Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-28

Abstract: This study aims to analyze the determinants that influence the consumers’ disposition to invest in microgrid technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This research offers valuable insights for policymakers on investors’ motivations to develop strategies to foster microgrid technology adoption through end-user investments leading to a reduction in microgrid high capital cost. The study employed descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analyses to analyze the responses of a sample of property owners to a quantitative survey. The study examines such variables as strategic alignment, profitability, digitization, renewable energy utilization, CO 2 emission reduction, and disaster recovery readiness. The data collected reveal a moderate level of understanding and cost-awareness of microgrid technology among the respondents, with a mean of 2.46 out of 5. Notably, the data highlight the significant influence of strategic alignment with the UAE’s national energy goals on the respondents’ inclination to invest in microgrids, with a strong positive correlation of 0.942 at the 0.01 level (two-tailed). By comparison, profitability and disaster recovery have a comparatively weaker correlation. Furthermore, based on the data collected during this study, it has been determined that there is a strong value added by the microgrid initiatives considering the UAE’s strategic direction and the positive influence of reduced CO 2 . The regression models used were highly significant at F = 85.690. There is an acceptable level of multicollinearity with VIF values ranging from 1.087 to 2.155. UAE Strategy has low collinearity. UAE Strategy emerges as the only significant predictor of willingness to invest ( p < 0.001) in the stepwise regression analysis. The analysis shows that villa and townhouse owners are willing to invest in community microgrid given that it is aligned with UAE strategy and leads to CO 2 emissions reduction.

Keywords: energy policy; strategic alignment; energy investment behavior; resilient energy solutions; microgrid technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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