A Comprehensive Review on Status of Solar PV Growth in Uganda

Abstract

Uganda is faced with a challenge of huge energy deficit just like many other developing countries in Africa. Currently, only 26.7% of the total population has access to electricity. Energy being the life – blood of any growing economy, subsequent endeavors and strategies need to be put in place in order to expand the use of renewable energies for socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Uganda being endowed with plenty of solar energy resource, its role in achieving national ambitions of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) cannot be underestimated. This paper therefore reviews the growth of Solar Photovoltaics (PV) in Uganda that was birthed in the 1980’s and continues to mature steadily today contributing 4.24%(50MW) to the national grid with several un documented off – grid systems. This progress has been realized under different market segments inclusive of the pico and macro solar home systems, Institutional PV, mini-grids, telecommunications and street lighting. Notwithstanding the prevalent challenges, there are numerous existing opportunities for solar PV development consisting of the financial, environmental, Institutional and the socio-economic factors. With more government and different stakeholder engagement however, this growth in the country could be accelerated further as the costs of the technology continue to plummet.

Estimating Market Potential for Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Uganda

“…similarly, Dagnachwa et al (2020) undertook a study to identify the barriers for electricity access in SSA and found supply side constraints such as inadequate institutional and regulatory support to be key limitations. Relatedly, studies on growth in uptake of off-grid technologies reveal that lack of supply and unreliability of grid electricity service is among key reasons behind uptake of alternative sources (UOMA, 2018;Burgess et al, 2019;Mugagga and Chamdimba, 2019). However, our finding contradicts recent finding by Blimpo and Cosgrove-Davies, (2019) who attribute electricity access deficit to mainly demand-side limitations.…”

“…With many households still below the poverty line this is not an affordable option. This could imply that, solar PV may present an alternative option for addressing electricity access problems in rural areas where there is no access at all, and urban areas where the grid is not reliable (Mugagga and Chamdimba, 2019). In addition, over 80% of households in Uganda using lanterns/lamps are considered to be in Tier 0, of which majority are rural households (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2018).…”

“…Available literature shows that the historical growth of solar PV market in Uganda is a result of low access to electricity mainly due to supply-side limitations (Mugagga and Chamdimba, 2019). At the same time, Blimpo et al (2020) argue that the widening electricity access gap in most of SSA is attributable to demand side limitations.…”

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation through Anaerobic Digestion of Urban Waste in Malawi: A Review

“…Energy is regarded as the life-blood of any growing economy; therefore renewable energy will play an important role in achieving socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability [58]. With the increasing demand for sustainable energy in many countries, WtE technologies are promising to provide reliable heat, electricity and transportation fuels [59].…”

“…The adoption of methane capture from MSW at decentralised areas, shall aid in provision of energy for localised productive uses unlike the dependence on the centralised grid that is both unreliable and also costly due to the need to transfer power lines to remote locations [58]. Therefore, the use of methane as an alternative to unreliable hydropower can help the country adapt to the impacts of climate change on energy access as well as supply power to the growing demand [49].…”