Strategic PV Project Development with Strengthened Renewable Energy Governance as a Solution to Sustainable Electrification in Eastern Africa, with Country Focuses of Tanzania and Uganda

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic power plants with their ease of implementation and minimal negative environmental and social impacts can be seen as the potential long-term solution for the rural electrification problem in Eastern African countries, namely Tanzania and Uganda, for reaching their targeted electricity access ratios for the next decades. Appropriate regulation of the renewable energy markets, innovative financing options and effective incentives for Solar PV power generation investments will prove decisive for the pace and extent of their expansion both for public and private initiatives in these countries. This paper starts with a brief analysis of related regulatory bodies, frameworks and policies in Tanzania and Uganda for solar PV implementations and introduces the relevant barriers and opportunities. As a result of this assessment, recommendations for an ideal business plan and competitive strategies to overcome the already existing barriers for PV implementations are presented. The research is based on desktop and on site research performed with key stakeholders.