Advances in Phytochemistry, Textile and Renewable Energy Research for
Industrial Growth – Nzila et al. (Eds)
© 2022 Copyright the Author(s), ISBN: 978-1-032-11871-0
Open Access: www.taylorfrancis.com, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
Renewable energy policy implementation sustainability in Uganda:
Enablers and drawbacks
Bosco Amerit ∗
Department of Business Administration, Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda
Kassim Alinda & Julius Opiso
Department of Accounting, Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda
Muyiwa S. Adaramola
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Science
(NMBU), Ås, Norway
ABSTRACT: Due to the desire to increase the proportion of renewable energy in Uganda’s energy mix, the
Government of Uganda formulated the Renewable Energy Policy (REP) of 2007, with the view to enhance the
use of modern renewable energy in the country from 4% in 2007 to 61% by 2017. Despite all efforts, after
more than 10 years of implementation, the set target was not achieved. This paper sought to examine the policy
implementation actions to date, and to develop an account of the deficiencies with regard to the governance
architecture of the energy sector and how this served to enable or impede policy implementation. The study
primarily entailed conducting integrative reviews and a critique of the sector plans retrieved from secondary data.
Additional data and information was collected from government documents, national and international project
reports, as well as utility companies. Additional information was collected through key informant interviews.
It was found out that the major enablers of renewable energy policy implementation in Uganda included the
existence of supportive legal and policy instruments, growth in local organizational capacity, and increased
ongoing research efforts. The key drawbacks however included the high investment costs for renewable energy
technologies, inadequate human capital and training, a weak regulatory framework, and poor enforcement, as well
as uncoordinated institutional action. As such, specific measures to address the drawbacks have accordingly been
suggested.
Keywords: Renewable energy policy (REP), Government of Uganda (G.O.U), Global Electricity Transfer Feed
in Tariffs (GET FiTs), Renewable Energy Feed in Tariffs (REFiTs)
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Matters of sustainable development of clean energy
continue to rank highly in the world’s development
agenda, ranging from national to regional, up to
the international sphere. The 2015 United Nations
Sustainable Development Summit adopted the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development that sets out targets for the development of renewable energy (UN
Report, 2015). Whereas the achievement of the 2030
agenda would significantly contribute to the realization of the SDG7, its effectiveness is largely dependent
on the nature of national action taken to either boost
the enabling factors or address the possible bottlenecks
∗ Corresponding author
encountered in the course of policy implementation for renewable energy. According to the Ministry
of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) of
Uganda, renewable energy relates to resources whose
sources are replenished continuously by natural processes. These have been categorized to include solar
energy, hydropower, biomass, wind, and geothermal
among others. Also, peat and wastes are considered as
renewable sources of energy in Uganda’s energy mix
in the energy policy.
Based on the national vision 2040, the government
of Uganda developed the energy policy (2002) with
the aim of “meeting the energy needs of Uganda’s
population for social and economic development, in
an environmentally sustainable manner.” This policy
laid the foundation for the development of Uganda’s
Renewable Energy Policy (REP) (2007) with the goal
of increasing the use of modern renewable energy,
216
DOI 10.1201/9781003221968-29
Industrial Growth – Nzila et al. (Eds)
© 2022 Copyright the Author(s), ISBN: 978-1-032-11871-0
Open Access: www.taylorfrancis.com, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
Renewable energy policy implementation sustainability in Uganda:
Enablers and drawbacks
Bosco Amerit ∗
Department of Business Administration, Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda
Kassim Alinda & Julius Opiso
Department of Accounting, Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda
Muyiwa S. Adaramola
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Science
(NMBU), Ås, Norway
ABSTRACT: Due to the desire to increase the proportion of renewable energy in Uganda’s energy mix, the
Government of Uganda formulated the Renewable Energy Policy (REP) of 2007, with the view to enhance the
use of modern renewable energy in the country from 4% in 2007 to 61% by 2017. Despite all efforts, after
more than 10 years of implementation, the set target was not achieved. This paper sought to examine the policy
implementation actions to date, and to develop an account of the deficiencies with regard to the governance
architecture of the energy sector and how this served to enable or impede policy implementation. The study
primarily entailed conducting integrative reviews and a critique of the sector plans retrieved from secondary data.
Additional data and information was collected from government documents, national and international project
reports, as well as utility companies. Additional information was collected through key informant interviews.
It was found out that the major enablers of renewable energy policy implementation in Uganda included the
existence of supportive legal and policy instruments, growth in local organizational capacity, and increased
ongoing research efforts. The key drawbacks however included the high investment costs for renewable energy
technologies, inadequate human capital and training, a weak regulatory framework, and poor enforcement, as well
as uncoordinated institutional action. As such, specific measures to address the drawbacks have accordingly been
suggested.
Keywords: Renewable energy policy (REP), Government of Uganda (G.O.U), Global Electricity Transfer Feed
in Tariffs (GET FiTs), Renewable Energy Feed in Tariffs (REFiTs)
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Matters of sustainable development of clean energy
continue to rank highly in the world’s development
agenda, ranging from national to regional, up to
the international sphere. The 2015 United Nations
Sustainable Development Summit adopted the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development that sets out targets for the development of renewable energy (UN
Report, 2015). Whereas the achievement of the 2030
agenda would significantly contribute to the realization of the SDG7, its effectiveness is largely dependent
on the nature of national action taken to either boost
the enabling factors or address the possible bottlenecks
∗ Corresponding author
encountered in the course of policy implementation for renewable energy. According to the Ministry
of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) of
Uganda, renewable energy relates to resources whose
sources are replenished continuously by natural processes. These have been categorized to include solar
energy, hydropower, biomass, wind, and geothermal
among others. Also, peat and wastes are considered as
renewable sources of energy in Uganda’s energy mix
in the energy policy.
Based on the national vision 2040, the government
of Uganda developed the energy policy (2002) with
the aim of “meeting the energy needs of Uganda’s
population for social and economic development, in
an environmentally sustainable manner.” This policy
laid the foundation for the development of Uganda’s
Renewable Energy Policy (REP) (2007) with the goal
of increasing the use of modern renewable energy,
216
DOI 10.1201/9781003221968-29