TANESCO Sign Agreement with UAE to Develop 2 GW of Renewable Energies

UAE renewable energy company Masdar has recently signed an agreement with Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) for the development of up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in the country.

Abdulla Zayed, Head of Business Development & Investment at Masdar, and Maharage Chande, Managing Director of TANESCO, signed the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) on the sidelines of the Tanzania Energy Congress in the presence of Hon. January Makamba, Minister for Energy for Tanzania.

The JDA envisages the establishment of a co-owned joint venture (JV) company by the two organizations to progress the project development. 

At the signature ceremony, Maharage Chande commented: “The agreement we are signing today will bring about a big revolution in the development of renewable energy in the country. Through the first phase of the collaboration, we expect to generate approximately 600 megawatts, and we will continue with other projects until we reach 2,000 megawatts.”

For his part, Abdulla Zayed said: “Masdar and TANESCO are working together to support Tanzania’s sustainable development and to provide a secure, clean source of energy for the people of Tanzania. The signing of this agreement demonstrates Masdar’s commitment to the Tanzanian market and to the nation’s energy transition, supporting the target to reach 5,000 MW capacity by 2025. We look forward to working with TANESCO to develop this ambitious program and to provide a clean pathway for growth for Tanzania.”

Tanzania Renewable Energies

Tanzania is endowed with diverse renewable energy resources, ranging from biomass and mini-hydro to geothermal, solar, and wind. 

However, renewable energy (excluding large hydro) accounts (2015 data) for only about 4.9% of the generation capacity.