Investigating the Enablers and Barriers to Industrial Clean Energy Adoption: A Qualitative Case Analysis of Ghanaian Small-and-Medium Firms

Abstract

An ambitious 10% off-grid renewable energy (RE) has been targeted since 2010 by the Ghana government in her total final energy mix by 2030. However, just under 3% of this policy objective is achieved after a decade. Despite the greater demand for electricity in the industrial sector with over 60% consumption of the country's total electric power, both policy and research have marginalised this sector of the economy in the quest for higher renewable power uptake. Hence, RE demand has remained poor among small-and-medium-size enterprises (SMEs), representing the economy's most significant energy-intensive sector. Based on a review of relevant literature, we explored the determining factors of SMEs RE adoption using the grounded theory and UTAUT2 as analytical approach. Accordingly, thematic interviews with selected SMEs were conducted and qualitatively analysed. Five adoption factor categories including, technical systems, economic aspects, firm's characteristics, policy and regulatory, and social aspects confirming UTAUT2 constructs performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, and price value as the critical adoption determinants. This investigation's findings form the basis for a conceptual development which illustrates Ghanaian SMEs' RE adoption decisions. The framework lays the foundation for future analysis of industrial clean energy uptake in resource-poor economies.

Keywords: Renewable energy, SMEs, Barriers, Adoption factors, Ghana