Abstract:
The shortage of electricity in Ethiopia creates a huge gap between demand and
supply, making individuals and organizations look for alternatives to obtain
regular supply of power. Ethiopia has a vast potential for renewable energy
resources like solar energy that have not fully utilized. Although solar energy is
abundant, accessible, affordable, and ecologically and environmentally friendly, in
rural Ethiopia the majority of households are still using pollutant kerosene for
lighting. It is important to understand the demand and supply-side factors affecting
adoption of technology. For this purpose, this study investigates the factors
influencing household adoption of the solar energy technology (SET).: The data
used for the econometric model was collected from randomly selected 256 solar
energy adopter and 129 non- adopter households in three districts (Babile,
Haramaya and Kersa) in east Hararghe zone, Oromia regional state of Ethiopia.
The logistic regression model was applied to examine the factors affecting
households’ decision to adopt SET. First identify the factor affecting the adoption
of solar PV system among rural household in Eastern Ethiopia. The finding of this
study shows significant variation in many of the socioeconomic, institutional and
demographic characteristics between adopters and non-adopters. The result of the
binary logistic regression model indicated that as wealth of a household increase,
their propensity to adopt solar home system also increases. Likewise, house type,
household size, numbers of cattle, educational level of the household head, access
to training and credit, and distance from grid positively correlated with the
probability of adoption. On the other hand, age, access to electricity, the cost
(price) of solar energy, the distance from market and infrastructure were negatively
associated with the adoption of SET.: Therefore, policy measures should create
awareness through training, education, the zero tax on importation of solar energy
and improving the economic status of households to enhance adoption of the solar
energy technology
