Environmental knowledge to create environmental attitudes generation toward solar energy purchase

• Environmental knowledge promotes Environmental concerns and investments in green energy in homeowners. • Environmental knowledge promotes the perception of the benefits of green energy. • Environmental concern promotes Environmental attitudes toward investment in green energy. • The perception of benefits provided by solar energy promotes behavioral control of people. This study reports a structural equation model (SEM) relating environmental knowledge, environmental concerns, perceived benefits, behavioral control, and environmental attitudes towards solar energy (SE) through seven hypotheses, where environmental knowledge is the independent variable and environmental attitudes are the dependent variable. Direct effects were used to validate the hypotheses using information from 511 responses obtained from May 15 to August 15, 2023, from homeowners in Ciudad Juarez (Mexico); additionally, the sum of indirect and total effects among variables and a sensitivity analysis based on probabilities were reported. The findings indicated that environmental knowledge promotes environmental concern (β=0.591, R²=0.35) and perceived benefits (β=0.576, R²=0.332). Therefore, it is essential to generate adequate information programs to help create environmental awareness and promote the benefits of solar energy. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis highlights that high environmental knowledge increases the probability of high environmental concern (P=0.697) and high perceived benefits (P=0.416), reinforcing the role of education and knowledge sharing in promoting solar energy adoption. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers to develop targeted educational and financial strategies to bridge knowledge gaps and address barriers, thus maximizing the potential of SE adoption in Mexico.