Renewable energy adoption in european small and medium-sized enterprises: A comparative sectoral analysis Rodríguez Molina, Mercedes Camacho Ballesta, José Antonio Renewable energy sources Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Sectoral analysis The authors are grateful to the European Union project CO-SUSTAIN (HORIZON–CL2–2023-DEMOCRACY-01–05, N◦191132467). Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This study explores sectoral differences in renewable energy adoption among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union, with a particular focus on the understudied service sector, which has received considerably less attention than industrial and manufacturing activities. Drawing on data from the Flash Eurobarometer 498 on SMEs, Resource Efficiency, and Green Markets, the analysis examines how internal resources, especially financial capacity, and external support—such as public funding and advisory services—shapes renewable energy decisions. The findings reveal that industrial (48.7 %) and manufacturing (48.1 %) SMEs are significantly more likely to plan renewable energy adoption in the near future compared to service-sector SMEs (41.1 %). Internal financial resources emerge as a key driver across all sectors, while the effectiveness of external support varies. In particular, public funding is notably underutilized in the service sector, despite its strategic potential. These sectoral disparities reflect deeper differences in energy consumption patterns, investment priorities, and the perceived returns from renewable energy. The study highlights the need for tailored, sector-specific policy interventions to remove adoption barriers in the service sector and improve the alignment of financial and advisory mechanisms. By identifying the distinct challenges and enablers across sectors, this research contributes to the design of more effective renewable energy policies for SMEs, supporting a more inclusive and sustainable energy transition in line with broader Sustainable Development Goals. 2025-12-15T11:56:02Z 2025-12-15T11:56:02Z 2026 journal article Rodríguez Molina, M. y Camacho Ballesta, J. A. Renewable energy adoption in european small and medium-sized enterprises: A comparative sectoral analysis. Cleaner Energy Systems Volume 13, June 2026, 100227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cles.2025.100227 2772-7831 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/108814 10.1016/j.cles.2025.100227 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier