Analysis of the socio-economic benefits of on-grid hybrid solar energy system on Bugala island in Uganda

On-grid hybrid solar energy (HSE) infrastructure has become a popular transitional approach to support local socio-economic development on Bugala island, Uganda. However, studies on the spatial extent of HSE users and empirical evidence on the effects of HSE on education, health, local economy, and access to information on the island are scarce. Through a cross-sectional survey conducted on Bugala island, this study aimed at providing the spatial extent of HSE on the island while analyzing its associated socio-economic benefits among the islanders. Data on HSE users was acquired from Kalangala Infrastructure Services (KIS) and HSE infrastructures while data on socio-economic benefits was collected from a random sample of 357 households and 7 purposively selected key informants using questionnaires, and interview guides respectively. The optmized hotspot analysis results indicated 99 % confidence on HSE users in Kalangala Town Council compared to Mugoye and Bujumba. At a pvalues <0.05 %, the ordinal logistic regression results indicated that there was an increase in the time spent by students on scholarly work including revising or studying or doing schoolwork at home (Coef. =1.73). There was also an increased presence of teachers in schools (Coef. = 1.25), attendance of students to evening lessons (Coef. = 1.03), increased access to healthcare services in medical facilities (Coef. similar to 1.26-1.77), increased access to information on both climate and agriculture (Coef. = 1.06) and increased working hours among businesses (Coef = 1.38). These results provide a basis for expanding solar energy to other islands. Policies focusing on lowering the energy access costs, streamlining flexible bill payments and connection mechanisms are required to benefit all the islanders. Future studies could focus on other potential renewable energy technologies for the islands as well as estimating the cost of supplying renewable energy to non-electrified islands of Lake Victoria.