Factors influencing consumer adoption of peer-to-peer blockchain-based energy trading

Abstract

Studies on the distribution of energy are increasingly focusing on blockchain-based Peer-toPeer (P2P) energy trading, a promising method to distribute sustainable energy on a local level. This thesis aimed to contribute to the existing literature by investigating the following research question: What are the factors influencing consumer intention to use P2P blockchain-based energy trading? Based on the second version of the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology”, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, perceived privacy risk, trust, risk and technology savviness were investigated to measure acceptance and to understand potential differences between the new but upcoming blockchain technology and a common comparable technology, in the form of a cloud solution. The results of the study (N=352) show that the intention to use P2P energy trading can be predicted by five out of nine constructs and that there are significant differences between the two technologies in certain areas, namely performance expectancy and hedonic motivation, what was identified through a multi-group analysis (MGA). Therefore, organisations using or introducing blockchain-based P2P energy trading should take special care in communicating these areas, as they are perceived significantly differently. However, social influence, facilitating conditions trust and risk perception, were equally predicted behavioural intention to use blockchain technology and a cloud solution for both technologies. These contexts can be an important opportunity for organisations providing P2P energy trading technology to inform and educate energy consumers and prosumers, thereby essentially increasing the acceptance of the technology. This, in turn, could significantly advance the energy transition.

Date of Award	9 Feb 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Filipa de Almeida (Supervisor) & Ian James Scott (Co-Supervisor)