Survey links financial and environmental perceptions to household biogas adoption

A study based on data from 541 users, investors and waste sources found that combined environmental and financial considerations were significantly associated with households’ intention to adopt domestic biogas plants. Partial least squares structural equation modelling estimated a path coefficient of 0.792 for the relationship between the combined environmental energy strategy and financial motivations, or GEPEI, and biogas adoption, with p < 0.001. The model explained 47.3% of the variance in adoption intention, reported as R², while also showing that awareness through social and digital media significantly and favorably moderated the relationships in the conceptual model.

The research focused on perceived advantages of household biogas rather than directly measuring operational outcomes such as electricity generation, household energy savings, greenhouse-gas reductions or fossil-fuel consumption. Its central outcome was intention to adopt a household biogas plant. The investigators examined environmental and financial motivations alongside awareness of domestic biogas technology and the moderating influence of social and digital media. Because the analysis estimated associations within a conceptual model, the results indicate which factors were linked to adoption intention, not proof that changing those perceptions would cause installation or deliver specific environmental and economic benefits.

The researchers used non-probability purposive sampling to select interviewees, drawing on information from 541 users, investors and waste sources associated with household biogas energy plants. They applied partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the designated hypotheses. The results supported H2 and H4, including the connection between GEPEI and adoption intention and the combined relationships accounting for 47.3% of the variance in intention. H1 and H3 were not supported, showing that the study did not confirm every pathway proposed in its conceptual model. The findings therefore support a prominent role for perceived financial feasibility and environmental motivation without establishing all of the model’s expected relationships.

Awareness through social and digital media emerged as another significant feature of the results. The selected moderating factors significantly and favorably influenced the conceptual model, meaning that awareness was associated with the way the relationships among environmental strategy, financial motivation and adoption intention operated in the analysis. The study therefore links information exposure not only with familiarity but also with the structure of the adoption model. This conclusion remains a statistical result from the surveyed sample and does not identify how media exposure affects individual decisions or what effect media campaigns would have outside the model.

The authors interpret the findings as empirical support for household biogas as an environmental and financial technology, with perceived financial feasibility standing out as a central factor in adoption. They also suggest that government administration could apply financial incentives involving residents, household biogas plant owners and investors. The present evidence does not determine how much a particular incentive would increase adoption, and it does not establish that installed plants consistently achieve anticipated savings or pollution reductions. Overall, the study provides evidence about the motivations and awareness associated with intention to adopt household biogas plants, rather than a direct assessment of the technology’s performance after installation.

Subject of Research: Perceptions of financial and environmental benefits, media awareness and intention to adopt household biogas plants

Article Title: Analyzing the household benefits of biogas technology through environmental sustainability for green economic development

Article References: Yaakub, S., & Ali, S. (2026). Analyzing the household benefits of biogas technology through environmental sustainability for green economic development. Discover Sustainability, 7(1), Article 1635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04698-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04698-1

Keywords: household biogas, biogas adoption, financial motivation, environmental sustainability, media awareness, organic waste, structural equation modelling, green economy, survey research, Analyzing, household, benefits