Drivers and Anticipated Outcomes of Solar Photovoltaic Projects –The Construction Practitioners' Perspectives

Despite Australia receives high levels of solar radiation annually, contributions to energy production from solar sources are significantly low across the country. Whist there is no lack of studies reviewing the initiatives of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Australia; few have been conducted in an approach that target construction industry's view and their professionals' perspectives on the solar PV projects. With the growing consensus that climate change is a threat facing today's society, this study aims to identify the relevant drivers and outcomes of solar PV projects for today's construction industry professionals and subsequently prioritise these phenomenon in terms of their importance and anticipation. Therefore, this study approached construction industry professionals to solicit their views regarding drivers and outcomes of solar PV implementation through an online questionnaire survey. The data received from the survey was subsequently analysed through an entropy ranking approach, facilitating prioritisation and ranking of both the drivers and outcomes. The findings reveal that construction professionals prioritise lowering the cost of solar PV technology as the most effective driver to result in their increased PV uptake, and resultantly anticipate greater solar PV efficiency and energy storage as the most important outcome. The findings of this study are insightful as they deconstruct barriers that may prevent construction professionals from implementing solar PV projects. Future study in this field is suggested to focus on ways in which lowered costs of solar PV technology can be achieved and technology efficiency levels increased. (paper)