Browsing by Author "Walekhwa, Peter N."

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    Biogas Energy From Family-Sized Digesters In Uganda: Critical Factors And Policy Implications
    (Energy policy, 2009) Walekhwa, Peter N.; Mugisha, Johnny; Drake, Lars
    Dependence on fossil energy sources is increasingly becoming unsustainable due to ecological and environmental problems and rapid depletion. Biogas energy could augment these conventional energy sources but despite its advantages and favourable conditions for its production, biogas energy use in Uganda remains low due to technical, economic and socio-cultural impediments. Based on primary data on households in Central and Eastern Uganda and the use of logistic regression, this study analyses factors affecting the adoption of biogas energy in Uganda. The empirical results suggest that the probability of a household adopting biogas technology increases with decreasing age of head of household, increasing household income, increasing number of cattle owned, increasing household size, male head of household and increasing cost of traditional fuels. In contrast, the likelihood of adoption decreases with increasing remoteness of household location and increasing household land area. Policy options and recommendations including educational and awareness campaigns on biogas benefits and successes, the provision of financial and non-financial incentives to households and establishment of an institutional framework could bolster wider biogas energy acceptance in Uganda.
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    Economic Potential of Flexible Balloon Biogas Digester among Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study from Uganda
    (Renewable Energy, 2018) Kabyanga, Moris; Balana, Bedru B.; Mugisha, Johnny; Walekhwa, Peter N.; Smith, Jo; Glenk, Klaus
    Biogas technology, as a pro-poor renewable energy source, has been promoted in Uganda since the 1980s by the government and NGOs. However, many of the biogas designs promoted have proved to be too expensive for the average Ugandan to afford. A cheaper flexible balloon digester has been proposed, but there have been lack of evidence on the economic viability of this design. The purpose of this study was to analyze the economic potential of a flexible balloon digester among smallholder farmers in Uganda using the tool of cost-benefit analysis. Primary data were obtained from survey of experimental households and 144 non-biogas households in central Uganda. The results revealed that the net present value was negative and the payback period was greater than the economic life of the digester. However, sensitivity analysis revealed that with a 50% reduction in investment cost the technology is financially viable for 67% of the households and to all households as a group (NPV= UGX5,804,730). The initial investment cost is a critical factor to economic viability and potential technology adoption. We suggest that government and development partners interested in the sector should consider strategies that could reduce the technology cost, for example, by manufacturing low cost balloon digester locally instead of importing prefabricated digesters.