Perceptions of risk and investment in wind energy in rural communities

This study examines whether individual risk attitudes, investment preferences and socio-economic characteristics are associated with stated willingness to invest in onshore wind-energy projects among rural respondents in Tanzania, with Ireland retained as a complementary case from a more established wind-energy market. Using ordered and generalised ordered logistic regression models, the Tanzanian results reveal substantial investment interest, with approximately half of respondents indicating willingness to invest. However, neither self-rated nor assessed risk consistently predicts investment propensity, while most financial, attitudinal and socio-demographic variables show weak or threshold-specific associations. In the complementary Irish sample, self-rated risk is positively and consistently associated with investment propensity, whereas assessed risk is substantially weaker. Required returns and selected individual characteristics are also associated with particular investment thresholds. Overall, the findings suggest that individual risk attitudes alone provide an incomplete explanation of prospective wind-energy investment in Tanzania. Policies should therefore consider accessible investment structures, credible information and greater opportunities for exposure to wind-energy projects, while future research should directly examine financial, institutional and project-level factors not captured in this study.