RENEWABLE ENERGY ADOPTION IN POOR RURAL AREAS IN THE PHILIPPINES: WHY COMMUNITIES MATTER

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the impact of the community-based approach to achieving long-term renewable energy technology adoption (RET). The key research question is “what determines the success or failure of the community-based RE projects in poor rural communities in the Philippines?” I postulate that successful adoption is most likely to be achieved if community members are included in the co-production and co-evolution of the RET adoption process.

The two key variables of the thesis are the community-based approach and RET adoption. To relate these two in an analytical framework, I utilised the participatory governance framework to discuss how and why the community-based approach works. Second, I presented the relational approach to technological diffusion to define what a successful RET adoption means. The case study approach with various qualitative tools of data gathering and analysis are used to select the communities, collect data, and analyse the empirical evidence.