Barriers to the deployment of solar photovoltaic in public universities in South Africa: a Delphi study
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation
ISSN: 2398-4708
Article publication date: 4 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) in higher education institutions is beneficial and critical for attaining sustainable campus goals. However, various barriers hamper the adoption of the technology, and unless these challenges are identified, formulating tailor made solutions to boost deployment will be challenging. Thus, this study aimed to identify the barriers to the deployment of PV in the public university sector in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A critical review of the literature was conducted to identify the factors that negatively impact PV deployment. By screening the barriers identified from the literature using a conceptual framework, the barriers that were considered relevant to deployment within a university context were selected. Thereafter, the selected barriers and additional barriers recommended by panellists were verified through a three-round Delphi survey. The factors were either accepted or rejected as barriers in the sector based on the factors' mean score and interquartile range values.
Findings
The study observed that 12 barriers hamper PV deployment in the public university sector. The findings indicated that the top five barriers were the lack of incentives, lack of green building targets, lack of financial resources, high initial cost, and lack of clear policy direction. However, the study found that deployment was not hindered because there was resistance to change or uncertainty of recouping investment costs. The deployment was also not hindered because there was a lack of demand from electricity end-users or a lack of suitable installation space.
Originality/value
Given the lack of empirical studies on the subject in the region, the present study contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying the significant barriers that impede PV deployment in the public university sector. Furthermore, insight is provided on measures that relevant stakeholders can take to motivate and support universities to deploy the technology further.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper reports part of the findings of a research aimed at improving the sustainability of buildings through the use of solar photovoltaic in public universities in South Africa. The authors acknowledge that this paper and others published with different scopes share similar background and methodology.
The research was funded by The National Research Foundation of South Africa and The World Academy of Sciences (No: 116085) and Central University of Technology, Free State.
The authors thank the panellists, editors and reviewers for the various contributions.
Citation
Geh, N., Emuze, F. and Das, D.K. (2022), "Barriers to the deployment of solar photovoltaic in public universities in South Africa: a Delphi study", International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-11-2021-0147
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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