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M. Tumusiime
Uganda’s population reside in rural areas which are far away from the
central city and town hubs of Kampala, Entebbe, Mbarara, Jinja, Arua
and Gulu.
In Uganda, tree biomass takes up the most extensive form of energy
demand, and its regeneration is startlingly being outpaced by population
increase expected to balloon to 76 million people by 2040. To achieve a
low-carbon economy, there is a strong need to adopt small-scale renewable energy products at the household level; revise methods of biomass
production and usage as well as embracing renewable energy. Albeit,
biomass is envisioned to be a major contributor to energy demand in
Uganda for decades to come, this therefore necessitates more investments
in efficient technologies (MEMD Uganda 2015).
As much as public and private sector initiatives have been bolstered to
increase the uptake of Improved Cookstoves (ICS), adoption is still low.
The most common cooking method in off-grid areas is the three-stone
fire method which is wasteful and does not trap heat. The most used
charcoal stove is the metallic sigiri which GIZ finds to have a cooking
efficiency of 15–17% compared to ICS efficiency of 24%. The old sigiri
cookstoves cause Indoor Air Pollution (IAP), leading to energy poverty
on the energy ladder (MEMD Uganda 2015).
Reducing energy poverty is key to the attainment of the SDGs and
transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Globally 4 million people die
annually due to IAP (WHO 2018). Uganda is no exception because
26% and 17% live in huts and muzigos respectively, which are local
tenements. The current rate of the on-grid connection is 100,000
connections per annum which are a far stretch from the 2030 goal of
670,000 connections per annum.
The above notwithstanding, we note that, Uganda is endowed with
renewable energy sources in the form of hydro, sustainable biomass and
solar. Uganda’s SEA4ALL Action Agenda (AA) presents ambitious goals
of Uganda’s electricity capacity by 2030, estimating the total installed
capacity to be 4.17 GW with renewable energy sources contributing
3 GW. 2.81 GW to be connected into the national grid (MEMD
Uganda 2015). Uganda’s AA appeals to the more significant sustainable
development paradigm, i.e. energy access, renewable energy and energy
efficiency. Energy efficiency in the AA is to be applied in transportation,
buildings and appliances.
M. Tumusiime
Uganda’s population reside in rural areas which are far away from the
central city and town hubs of Kampala, Entebbe, Mbarara, Jinja, Arua
and Gulu.
In Uganda, tree biomass takes up the most extensive form of energy
demand, and its regeneration is startlingly being outpaced by population
increase expected to balloon to 76 million people by 2040. To achieve a
low-carbon economy, there is a strong need to adopt small-scale renewable energy products at the household level; revise methods of biomass
production and usage as well as embracing renewable energy. Albeit,
biomass is envisioned to be a major contributor to energy demand in
Uganda for decades to come, this therefore necessitates more investments
in efficient technologies (MEMD Uganda 2015).
As much as public and private sector initiatives have been bolstered to
increase the uptake of Improved Cookstoves (ICS), adoption is still low.
The most common cooking method in off-grid areas is the three-stone
fire method which is wasteful and does not trap heat. The most used
charcoal stove is the metallic sigiri which GIZ finds to have a cooking
efficiency of 15–17% compared to ICS efficiency of 24%. The old sigiri
cookstoves cause Indoor Air Pollution (IAP), leading to energy poverty
on the energy ladder (MEMD Uganda 2015).
Reducing energy poverty is key to the attainment of the SDGs and
transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Globally 4 million people die
annually due to IAP (WHO 2018). Uganda is no exception because
26% and 17% live in huts and muzigos respectively, which are local
tenements. The current rate of the on-grid connection is 100,000
connections per annum which are a far stretch from the 2030 goal of
670,000 connections per annum.
The above notwithstanding, we note that, Uganda is endowed with
renewable energy sources in the form of hydro, sustainable biomass and
solar. Uganda’s SEA4ALL Action Agenda (AA) presents ambitious goals
of Uganda’s electricity capacity by 2030, estimating the total installed
capacity to be 4.17 GW with renewable energy sources contributing
3 GW. 2.81 GW to be connected into the national grid (MEMD
Uganda 2015). Uganda’s AA appeals to the more significant sustainable
development paradigm, i.e. energy access, renewable energy and energy
efficiency. Energy efficiency in the AA is to be applied in transportation,
buildings and appliances.