Exploring the Commercialization of Smart Rural Energy in Times of Energy Supply Chain Disruptions

The lingering COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have wreaked havoc on the global oil supply chain. The current disruption of the oil supply chain and the rapidly growing energy demand created unprecedented oil shortages and raised the oil price beyond the affordable level. As worldwide oil price hikes continue, there is an urgent need for developing alternative energy sources, such as smart rural energy. Despite its enormous potential as a viable alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based energy sources, smart rural energy has never been fully utilized in society. The limited use of smart rural energy may be related to its lack of commercialization, which could have created more eco-friendly and cost-efficient alternative energy sources. This paper assesses the eco-friendliness and cost-efficiency of smart rural energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower for the first time. This paper is also one of the first studies that intends to develop viable strategic plans for commercializing smart rural energy using strategy maps, which subsequently helps increase public awareness of renewable energy by creating visual communication tools that convey the benefits of smart rural energy commercialization to multiple stakeholders, including government entities, business communities, and energy consumers.