Examining households energy consumption patterns and effects on environment in Siaya township, Siaya county, Kenya

Abstract

Previous reports on Siaya county energy consumption reveal that woodfuel is the primary source of energy. Such heavy dependence at 98% causes poverty and environmental problems in the form of deforestation, biodiversity loss, air pollution, depletion of water sources and land degradation. However, little is known about the energy consumption pattern in Siaya Township ward. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine the households’ energy consumption pattern and effects on the environment in Siaya Township. It was to specifically determine factors influencing household energy consumption, to spatially analyse household energy consumption pattern, and to establish environmental effects associated with the use of wood fuel. The study was a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study design based on cluster sampling. 411 households were sampled out of 8,043. Primary and secondary data were analysed using SPSS descriptive statistical analysis and GIS spatial analysis, respectively. The results revealed that socio-economic and geographic factors influence energy consumption in Siaya Township. On the other hand, the direct effects on the environment are a reduction in forest cover, loss of wetlands, biodiversity loss, land degradation and depletion of water sources. The findings call for the county government in collaboration with all stakeholders to put policies in place to help subsidise the installation cost of green energy sources. Also, to train and build human capacity to install and maintain such sources and put in place a credit facility for households that would want to invest on the same. The finding of this study is expected to contribute to the knowledge of the energy consumption patterns in contexts like Siaya Township. To this end, it would be of interest for future studies to look at energy choice behaviour in the same context by choice modelling to help bring a deeper understanding of energy consumption for future energy planning.