Diffusion of Innovation

The purpose of this research was to identify factors which promote interest in solar photovoltaic generation systems for facility use within the United States Air Force. The construct model was developed based on past literature on Diffusion of Innovation Theory. The model consisted of measures defined as motivation, knowledge, experience, and familiarity as well as contextual variables. These measures were then used to determine whether any significant relationship existed between the measures and the overall dependent variable, interest. A phone interview was conducted with 28 Air Force energy managers from 61 active duty bases within the continental U.S. The methods of correlation and regression analysis were used to evaluate the objectives and hypotheses identified. Results indicate that there is a positive, significant relationship between the motivation to seek new energy technologies for reducing load demands and interest in solar photovoltaic generation systems.