Title: Uganda's Renewable Energy Potential

in East Africa

Submitted:

14 September, 2023

Renewable energy is obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible. Examples of renewable resources include wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, tidal power and hydroelectric power. The most important feature of renewable energy is that it can be harnessed without the release of harmful pollutants.

Nestled in the heart of East Africa, Uganda boasts an abundance of renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, and hydropower. Beyond powering homes and industries, Uganda has recognized the strategic significance of harnessing these resources to ensure domestic energy security but also to enhance its energy security within the region. This report takes a deep dive into Uganda's foray into renewable energy, key initiatives, and the stats.

Uganda's natural landscape provides a fertile ground for renewable energy development. The country's equatorial location ensures consistent sunshine throughout the year, making it ideal for solar power generation. In addition, abundant wind and hydropower resources offer tremendous potential for clean energy production. The country’s physical energy resource potential includes an estimated 2,000 MW of hydroelectric power, 450 MW of geo-thermal energy, 1,650 MW of biomass cogeneration (often at sugar manufacturing plants), 460 million tons of biomass in stock with a sustainable annual output of 50 million tons, an average of 5.1 kWh/m2 /day of solar energy, and about 250 million tons of peat (800 MW) (GIZ,2022). The biggest solar plant in East Africa of capacity 10MW is found in Soroti City, Uganda. It is composed of 32,680 photovoltaic panels, the new 10-megawatt facility is the country’s first grid-connected solar plant and it is part of the GET FiT government programme incept in 2013 and managed by Germany’s KfW Development Bank. As of 2019 the country generated a surplus of electricity with production capacity amounting to 1,254 megawatts (Electricity Regulatory Authority, 2019) and a projection of 1,800 megawatts later the year end, and above 2000 megawatts by end of 2022. Uganda produces “too much” electricity in that much of it is left unused (deemed electricity) contributing to losses of over $23 million in 2022. (Office Of the Auditor General, 2022). Much of the electricity ls not be evacuated due to under developed infrastructure.

The country has over 30 hydropower plants way far from her contender Kenya with about 15.Uganda actively participates in regional energy cooperation through the East African Power Pool (EAPP) and exports much of her Hydroelectric power to Kenya , Tanzania, Dr, Congo and South Sudan. In the year ended 2022, Uganda exported about 400,000 MWh which is close to a double that was exported in the previous year (Bank Of Uganda, 2022).

Government policies and incentives have been pivotal in attracting investment in energy projects. One ambitious goal is to achieve universal electricity access by 2030, with a significant portion coming from renewables.