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An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to perform a baseline survey to understand the social acceptance for renewable energy among engineering students at the faculty of engineering in Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine. Gaza has been suffering from the lack of energy supply since the siege, which imposed on Gaza by Israeli force in 2006. The siege prohibited the Gazans from having enough traditional fossil fuel through the borders, which are frequently closed by the Israeli forces. Moreover, Israeli force bombed the only power plant in Gaza several times during the wars on Gaza. This led the Gazans to search for alternative sources of energy. They randomly used renewable energy sources including solar, wind and biogas without strategic plans. This study investigates how the society fosters renewable electricity production. Based on a comprehensive review of research on this topic, hypotheses about different factors including gender differences involvement in accepting the use of renewable energy. A questionnaire is designed to test the aim of this study. Then the questionnaire is distributed to a sample of engineering students numbering two hundred students for all major except electrical engineering students, which is randomly taken from study population which are the students of the faculty of engineering (2145 students). The data gathered from engineering students are analyzed statistically using SPSS program. The results of the study found that there is no differences related to statistical evidence among students of the faculty of engineering at the Islamic University on having social acceptance of renewable energy systems in terms of (knowledge of renewable energy, uses of renewable energy, and applications of renewable energy at home, university, and society) attributed to sex, specialization, academic level and place of residence, and that most of the sample's members support the necessity of using renewable energy systems (97.7% of the sample). This is expected from the selected sample which is an elite sample of the community and specialized; therefore, the study recommends to apply this work to a random sample of the community. Further, the study recommends to adopt renewable energy as a substitute for traditional energy which is difficult to obtain due to local political conditions. Moreover, renewable energy is a safe source for individuals and society. In addition, it is environmentally friendly and socially accepted by local society. It is also recommended to include renewable energy topics in Universities curriculum.

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