Determinants of the uptake of solar photovoltaic by erc licenced firms in kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this research project is to examine the determinants of uptake of solar PV in Kenya using a case of licensed solar PV firms in Kenya. This research sought to achieve five objectives with the key variables being the uptake of solar PV as the dependent variable and cost of equipments, quality of equipments, government incentives, awareness of the technology and grid access being the independent variables. The research design employed in conducting this study was descriptive research design. The study used questionnaire to collect data from the sales engineers, sales managers and company heads of solar photovoltaic contractor firms as well as vending firms. Since the target population comprised 214 solar vendors and contractors, the study used a census method with a sample size of 214 firms and a return rate of 134 out of 214 which represents 63% return rate. The data from the questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics and percentages. The study established that the five variables highly affect the uptake of the solar PV albeit in different magnitude. Government incentives were found to be the highest in determining the uptake of solar PV while the proximity to grid access was found to be the least. The study recommends further research to establish other factors that affect the uptake of solar PV in Kenya as the five variables though critical, were not enough to give a blanket view. The conclusions of this study is very useful to the government policy makers to understand the determinants of uptake of solar PV as well as the solar PV entrepreneurs to help them understand their consumers better besides adding knowledge to the solar PV industry.