Abstract
In transition to a low-carbon economy, the adoption of renewable energy (RE) technologies by energy investors, power utilities and energy consumers is critical. In developing countries like Kenya with a high rate of urbanization, this transition requires urban and rural residents’ proactive responses to using renewable energy sources. In this regard, a better understanding of residents’ perceptions about renewable energy investment, RE sources availability, climate change, environmental conservation and other factors can lead to more efficient and sustainable implementation of renewable energy policies. This study investigates the role Kenya’s household energy consumers in urban and rural areas can play in adopting renewable energy technologies. To achieve this, a questionnaire survey was administered among 250 household consumers in Nairobi County, Makueni County, and Uasin Gishu County. Our survey analysis shows that about 84% of the respondents were interested in adopting renewable energy for their entire energy consumption mostly because of solving frequent power outages and high energy cost from the grid system. This perception did not have any correlations with income levels or any other socio-economic factors we identified. Furthermore, about 72% of the respondents showed their interests in producing and selling renewable energy to the national or local grids if government subsidies were readily available. Rural residents showed strong interests in adopting renewable energy technologies, especially solar PV solutions. However, the main impediment to their investment in renewable energy was the high cost of equipment (49%) and the intermittent nature of renewable energy (27%) resources.
Highlights
Residential energy consumption reduction can play a significant role in mitigating climate change [1]
The question remains as to the extent to which household energy consumers are willing to adopt renewable energy technologies in developing countries like Kenya that has suffered from chronic poverty conditions but is endowed with a high renewable energy generation potential
We found that respondents’ interests in investing in renewable energy was influenced by countries like Qatar [33] and Yemen [15]
Summary
Residential energy consumption reduction can play a significant role in mitigating climate change [1]. Since 2012, Kenya’s residential power consumption has grown by 28%. This growth occurred mainly as a result of urbanization and improved electricity access in the rural areas [4]. In 2018, hoping to dramatically change this energy consumption outlook, the Kenyan government announced that it would supply 100% of its energy from renewable resources. Despite this noble attempt, the question remains as to the extent to which household energy consumers are willing to adopt renewable energy technologies in developing countries like Kenya that has suffered from chronic poverty conditions but is endowed with a high renewable energy generation potential
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