Socioeconomic Analysis of Renewable Energy Interventions: Developing Affordable Small‐scale Household Sustainable Technologies in Northern Uganda

Clean and reliable energy are significant challenges to most developing countries toward achieving sustainable growth. The lack of necessary data required for effective decision‐making hinders the planning process. Also, the technology pathway dependency limits the adoption rate of modern technologies in rural areas. Developing green energy solutions requires an actual understanding of cost in a local context compared to the accrued benefits. To understand the context of cost and benefit for sustainable and green energy solutions, a study is conducted in the districts of Gulu, Amuru, Nwoya, and Omoro, in Northern Uganda. The aim is to assess the need to develop low‐cost alternatives and efficient sources of households' renewable energy technologies. The objective is to use local resources in the districts in developing cost‐effective solutions that can be replicated in other districts and countries with similar characteristics. A field survey is conducted and questionnaires are administered to respondents in the four districts based on the driver pressure impact state response (DPISR) framework. From a technology product development perspective, biomass and solar energy resources are identified as most viable considering the constraints to support socioeconomic and environmental initiatives of the people of Northern Uganda. The proposed technological pathways are biomass to energy, solar cookstove, and small‐scale solar PV power generation unit. A cost–benefit analysis is conducted for the proposed technologies, considering the local conditions. The identified benefits include firewood saving, health benefits, environmental conservation, and greenhouse gas emission reduction. The study concludes that while there are benefits from the alternative technologies, socioeconomic, technological pathway dependency, financial, and institutional barriers exist to their adoption.