Household Choice of Renewable Energy Sources in Kenya

Kenya recognizes the relationship between its emerging economy, energy, and the well-being of its citizens through the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Kenya’s Vision 2030 points to the huge contribution of energy toward strengthening adaptability, climate resilience, and good performance in different branches of the economy. The Kenya government has established different policies and laws in a bid to decarbonize the energy sector, and with a goal of attaining complete use of the national grid, 100 percent clean energy by 2030, common access to clean cooking, 2028, gearing towards reaching Net Zero in 2050. The Nationally Determined Contribution of the country is to significantly cut down greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Despite the development of these policies, the adoption of renewable energy sources among Kenyan households remains suboptimal, highlighting the need to examine the determinants of household choice of renewable energy sources. Therefore, this study sought to determine the factors influencing household choice of renewable energy sources in Kenya. A cross-sectional research design was employed in the study to assess and analyze the choice of renewable energy sources in the country. The study leveraged on secondary data from Multi-Tier Framework Survey conducted in 2016 – 2018 by the World Bank. Anchored on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the dataset provided the information required to examine the factors that influence household choice of renewable energy sources in Kenya. A logit regression model was used to analyze the study objective. Marginal effects were further computed to interpret the influence of explanatory variables on the probability of choosing renewable energy sources. The data was analyzed using STATA. The study found that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, knowledge and perceived satisfaction were statistically significant in explaining the determinants of households’ behavioral intention to use renewable energy sources. The study recommends the National Government, government agencies, County Governments and non-governmental organizations to improve the affordability and accessibility of renewable energy technologies, strengthen public awareness and knowledge, and promote positive behavioral attitudes towards renewable energy adoption among households.