Demographic Influences and Sustainability Perceptions: A Mixed ANOVA Study of Nyamanarri Solar Mini-grid in The Gambia

Abstract

Background: Evaluating the social, economic, and environmental effects of solar photovoltaic systems is imperative to ensure their sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the perception of participants on five important dimensions of sustainability of Nyamanarri Solar Mini-grid in The Gambia—Economic, Social, Environmental, Institutional, and Technical—and explore the effect of demographic variables [Gender, Age, Kaabiloo (Family Structure), Education, and Employment] on them. It aims to ascertain areas of intervention in sustainability initiatives and propose focused interventions. Place of Study: A 120 kWp off-grid PV mini-grid was built in Nyamanarri (130 20’ 03” North and 130 52’ 08” West) in the Upper River Region of The Gambia. Methodology: A Mixed ANOVA was used to compare survey ratings measuring five sustainability dimensions: Economic, Social, Environmental, Institutional, and Technical. In this study, data were collected from 49 participants using a structured questionnaire administered between April 8 to April 12, 2023, in Nyamanarri. Ratings between participants were compared in these dimensions, and the effect of demographic variables such as Gender, Age, Kaabiloo (a division in a village), Education, and Employment was determined. Post-hoc analysis was also done to measure some differences between dimensions, with the effect sizes measured using Cohen's d. Subgroup analyses were also carried out to determine demographic effects on perceptions. Results: Significant differences between participants' ratings by sustainability dimensions [F(4, 44) = 7.7601, p = 0.0361] were identified, with the maximum for the Environmental dimension and the minimum for the Technical dimension. The post-hoc analysis showed that participants assigned a significantly lower rating for the Technical dimension compared to the Economic, Environmental, and Institutional dimensions (p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed that higher-education respondents and those who were older rated the Environmental and Institutional dimensions more favorably, and females rated the Social dimension substantially higher than males. Conclusion: The results suggest technical inadequacies as a primary cause of sustainability project failure in line with prior research. The research is proposing interventions to enhance system usability and reliability, alongside incorporating population-specific know-how into project planning. Additional qualitative analysis is suggested to further interpret these results.