Integration of renewable energy alternatives in response to climate change: barriers and opportunities to effective transitioning.
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Date
2025
Authors
Musonda, Bertha
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
Renewable energy often referred to as clean energy, is an important energy source that comes from natural sources or processes that are constantly replenished such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydro-based energy. Zambia’s installed energy capacity stands at 2,800 Megawatts (MW) of which 85 percent of that is hydro-based and increasingly vulnerable to climate change. In terms of policy, the Electricity Act of 2019 and Energy Regulation Act of 2019 are regulations meant to govern energy; however, they are inadequate to promote the exploitation of renewable energy sources because the two pieces of legislation are biased towards electricity generation and regulatory matters, respectively. The purpose of this study was to develop an atlas of renewable energy alternatives and highlight the barriers and opportunities for effective transitioning, in response to climate change. Furthermore, the objectives included to develop an atlas of energy alternatives with a comparative advantage in different geographical regions of Zambia, to investigate the viability and barriers of integrating alternatives and to explore the opportunities for available energy sources The Methodology involved key informant interviews, Participatory Geographic Information system, literature review of government reports, legislature, journal articles, books and any unpublished material on renewable energy and climate change in Zambia. The research design was qualitative and seven (07) key experts from the energy industry were purposively sampled because each answered a particular need for the research based on position, experience and knowledge. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data and results revealed that renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal are spread across the country. Further, barriers to the adoption of renewable energy alternatives are eminent and the development of methods that can overcome them appears to be constrained. Barriers such as Limited Infrastructure, Financial Constraints, Technical Capacity and Grid Integration continue to impede the process. The implications are that addressing these barriers and capitalizing on Opportunities associated with Abundant Renewable Resources, Policy and Regulatory framework, Job Creation and Economic Growth, significant progress can be made in transitioning to a more sustainable and climate-resilient energy system. The study recommends that ZESCO Ltd, the National Utility and Independent Power Producers should collaborate in investing in alternatives such as solar
for power production country wide among others.
Keywords: Adoption, Barriers, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Integration, Viability
Description
Thesis of Master of Science in Environmental and Natural Resources Management.