Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/60108 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
GIGA Working Papers No. 198
Publisher: 
German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg
Abstract: 
We study the determinants of households' choices of lighting fuels in Kenya, including the option of using solar home systems (SHSs). The paper adds new evidence on the factors that influence the introduction and adoption of decentralized and less carbon-intensive energy sources in developing countries. We capitalize on a unique representative survey on energy use and sources from Kenya, one of the few relatively well-established SHSs markets in the world. Our results reveal some very interesting patterns in the fuel transition in the context of lighting-fuel choices. While we find clear evidence for a crosssectional energy ladder, the income threshold for modern fuel use - including solar energy use - is very high. Income and education turn out to be key determinants of SHSs adoption, but we also find a very pronounced effect of SHSs clustering. In addition, we do not find a negative correlation between grid access and SHSs use.
Subjects: 
renewable energy
household fuel choice
lighting-fuel choice
solar power use
solar home systems
Kenya
energy ladder
KIHBS
JEL: 
D12
O12
Q42
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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