Abstract:
Understanding the spatial variation of factors driving interest in bioenergy is
important for designing effective energy policies. Although previous authors
have broadly explored the determinants of biomass supply intentions in the field
of bioenergy, the potential spatial variation of these factors has received limited
consideration from bioenergy research. We performed a structural equation
modeling based on the theory of planned behavior to investigate the impact of
spatial disparities on factors determining people’s intentions to supply forestry
residues for clean energy. Our data were generated through a survey of
247 participants randomly sampled from two contrasting geographic regions
(north and south) of the Republic of Benin. We found that spatial disparities
altered the effects of attitude and knowledge of renewable energy while income
and perceived behavioral control exhibited consistent positive effects across
geographical regions. Our findings imply that ignoring spatial disparities when
analyzing bioenergy acceptance can lead to distorted inferences. These findings
can be used as a baseline information by policymakers to develop region-specific
actions for achieving local transition toward clean energy in the Republic of Benin.
