Renewable energy education and awareness among Indonesian students: Exploring challenges and opportunities for a sustainable future

Limited fossil energy has become a crucial priority in various countries. Indonesia, due to its dense population heavily relies on fossil energy sources, with the primary emphasis in the future national energy development being renewable energy usage. However, renewable energy assessment has received significantly less attention. Therefore, this study aims to measure the awareness of renewable energy in Indonesian students at different levels of education. A descriptive-quantitative method was used through a closed-ended questionnaire distributed to 366 participants, selected using Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling. The collected data were analyzed using statistical tests, including Z-test and ANOVA, to compare awareness levels based on gender and education groups. Questionnaire-based surveys were conducted to collect data, and nonparametric tests, such as The Mann-Whitney and the Kruskal-Wallis, were utilized for the analysis. The results showed that the vocational high school (SMK) students exhibited a moderate average awareness of renewable energy with a score of 57.50, while engineering (FT) and technical vocational education (PTK) students showed a higher score of 75.25. There was a significant difference in awareness levels across education backgrounds and ages, but no substantial variation was observed between males and females. These findings contributed valuable recommendations and insights into renewable energy awareness.