Report on D8.4: Social Acceptance

The report begins with a literature review examining social acceptance of Solar Thermal Energy (STE) systems and related renewable energy technologies. Public stakeholders originating from local communities were identified from the literature, and the social acceptance categories influencing each group were extracted from academic studies, which included acceptance of STE systems’ environmental benefits, acceptance of consumers of STE-produced goods, and acceptance of government initiatives for STE development. Established data analysis techniques, particularly Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data, were reviewed to examine how the literature evaluates observed social acceptance and determines its underlying influencing factors.Following the literature review, the scope for the assessment of ASTEP’s social acceptance was established. The social acceptance categories assessed were tabulated, which included Acceptance of ASTEP’s Environmental Benefits, Acceptance with ASTEP in Industrial Processes, Acceptance of Products Manufactured using ASTEP, Acceptance of Government Support for STE Systems Similar to ASTEP. Building on this, the underlying measurable indicators used to assess social acceptance were clearly defined.The data collection instruments were then developed to assess ASTEP’s social acceptance in the form of online surveys via social media channels. The collected quantitative data were analysed using EFA to identify the underlying constructs influencing social acceptance. Correlation matrices were constructed to examine interdependencies between measurable indicators and to quantify their collective influence on social acceptance for each stakeholder group. In parallel, qualitative feedback collected by the surveys was processed using content analysis to supplement the quantitative findings derived from the EFA.The results revealed high levels of social acceptance for the environmental benefits of STE, with a significant proportion of participants strongly agreeing that STE systems contribute to emissions reduction and improved air quality. This was identified as the most influential construct in shaping overall social acceptance as shown by high factor loadings, which were numerically validated and verified against findings from existing literature. Public agreement with the application of STE in industrial processes emerged as a key driver of social acceptance, as demonstrated by strong factor loadings validated both numerically and by supporting evidence from the literature.Furthermore, the findings indicated strong public acceptance of ASTEP’s adoption within supply chains, particularly through the strong influence of public agreement to consume goods produced using its clean energy, verified by numerical indices. Agreement with continual government investment for ASTEP and similar STE systems was also observed, strongly influencing social acceptance of government support for ASTEP and similar STE systems, substantiated by strong factor loadings, which were numerically validated, and alignment with findings from existing academic studies.