Background
Description of Business under Study
The contemporary issue of global warming in the world has given rise to the possibilities of energy conservation, the need to control pollution, and save the environment. Hence, the urgency to switch to sustainable options has heightened over the last two decades. (Markard, Raven & Truffer, 2012)To understand this change in the energy sector and help current energy supplies rapidly develop smarter energy sources of supply, generation and storage, load, the University of Wollongong has partnered with Energy Future Network that is an advising agent. As a result, this study requires research and innovation to address the upcoming challenges of the one-way supply system. With UOW partnering with various entities like universities, commercial and government agents it would be possible to optimize into a digital, decarbonized, and decentralized future of the energy market. (Wainstein & Bumpus, 2016)
Location
The study will be undertaken in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at the University of Wollongong. With prime location of the UOW’s Sydney Business School it will be possible to achieve a broader scope of information than operating from a remote area, that is Wollongong.
Purpose Of The Study
The disastrous aspects of global warming have made consumers and communities more aware than before. Due to which, energy supply options in Australia are bound to change in the future. The need to use reliable and sustainable energy has made a significant impact, causing 25% of homes in Australia to move towards solar energy supply and batteries. Customer choice and repressed requirement to save the planet has developed an increase in number of distributed generation and alternative fuel technologies. Hence, to address this issue, this research will be undertaken for disruptive business models that are intended to be applied for renewable energy generation and supply. (Smith & Raven, 2012)
Swot Analysis
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Strength:
Huge energy supply potential.
Increase in number of supports for new energy production and consumption.
Rising investments in sustainable energy.
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Weakness:
Unknown high costs.
Huge demand for grid with lack of plants. (van der Schoor & Scholtens, 2015)
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Opportunities:
New technology advancement in the industry.
Awareness of sustainable energy use and benefits. (Lewis & Nocera, 2006)
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Threat:
Uncertainty in climate change
Competitors in the market.
Regulation risks. (Hoffarth & Hodson, 2016)
Study Objective
The main objectives that this study strives to achieve are as follows:
1 To find out the issues constraining residents in an apartment from switching to renewable sources of energy consumption
2 To gauge the attitude of residents living in apartments towards renewable energy in terms of positive or negative opinions.
3 To find out the expectations that residents have in terms of renewable energy.
Literature Review
Context of disruption in sustainability transmission: The disruption studies for dimensions of culture, practices and behaviour is generally neglected in the issues of markets and regulation. (O'Regan & Grätzel, 1991)
Suggestions are that new business models need to emerge with required changed in policy making. Supporting reinforced behaviour and wider infrastructures is required. (Klein & Coffey, 2016)Community energy awareness has been growing in past few years with people adopting private and share energy supply. The future of energy supply brings about challenges in social, economic, environmental and technological. Including the public would result as an ideal option in aiding them reap benefits of shared energy like reducing costs and climate threats. As a result, community energy is a pathway to energy behaviour change. (Ahmadi et al. 2021)
It is essential for future developments of sustainable energy supply to provide consumers with a end-user centric approach. The need for new local energy transmission plants. Improvement of resilience of distribution systems for security failures. (Hirsch, Parag & Guerrero, 2018) Minimizing possible issues in new technology for power distribution would help establish a reliable business model for the future of the electricity industry. (Panwar, Kaushik & Kothari, 2011)
Future expectations of encouraging a more elaborate distribution of supply and infrastructure have a large scope. Providing linkage to new business models and altering components of regulation and policies would allow a sustainable practice for the public. ( (Kivimaa et al. 2021)
Research Problems And Questions
Research problem: With the significant impact of sustainable energy in Australia, a major part of energy users is consumed by coal, oil and gas respectively. This market uncertainty has led to a delay in sustainable energy plans. With apartments in Australia, most property owners vary in number and opinion which may be the cause to slow growth of sustainable energy consumption. (Terrados, Almonacid & Hontoria, 2007) The hassle of switching energy providers and the cost involved for implementation and regulation has proven to be a barrier in the disruptive model of electricity supply. This study strives to address and explore possible ways towards three issues of apartment residents and their concerns with adopting sustainable energy. (Yan, Qin, Nie & Yang, 2018)
Research questions
- What are the number of residents in apartments that use conventional sources of energy?
- What are the existing issues limiting residents in apartments from switching to renewable sources of energy?
- What is the attitude of residents in apartments towards renewable energy in positive or negative terms?
- What are the expectations that residents conceive in an apartment in terms of switching to renewable energy?
- What are the solutions to attracting more apartment residents in terms of switching to renewable energy.
Data Collection And Methodology
Measurement
To understand the consumer base of energy consumption in residential apartments, a survey will be undertaken with the use of a questionnaire in this study on energy users. Using primary data of a quantitative research on the residents to determine major issues surrounding sustainable energy will be addressed. Hence, the survey supports the understanding of the potential of residents living in apartments to opt for possible new and renewable energy models like community batteries. (Zhao, Chang, Hwang and Deng, 2017)
Research Design
This study focuses on a descriptive quantitative data to be analysed for the research. The factors explored in this study would in a systematic and structured and unstructured manner. The existing variables will be considered while undertaking the study for in-depth analysis.
Sampling Plan
This research method would be undertaken by sampling responses by apartments residents. The sample element would be a randomized selection of residents to eliminate any bias. Same size would be 10 residents for 3 apartments in 3 different suburbs of Sydney.
