On 12th June 0218, global renewable energy development company Windlab (ASX: WND) announced that its subsidiary Windlab Developments Tanzania has been awarded an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Certificate for the construction of Wind Farm and Transmission line project in the country.
The ESIA Certificate is the formal and comprehensive assessment of the environmental and social consequences of a project prior to construction.
The Certificate was signed on 30th May 2018 by The Minister of State, Vice-President’s Office, Union and Environment, January Yusuf Makamba.
Dubbed Miombo Hewani, the farm will be located 10km’s north of Makambako, in Southern Central Tanzania, with an approved power production capacity of up to 300MW.
The farm will operate for at least 25 years and generate enough power to supply nearly 1 million average Tanzanian homes.
It will be built in phases; the first phase of the project will be around 100MW and include up to 34 wind turbines as well as electrical infrastructure connecting the wind farm to national electricity grid at the Makambako substations, at an estimated cost of USD 300 million.
In his remarks, the CEO of Windlab Limited, Roger Price, said: “We are very pleased to receive the first EISA for a wind farm in Tanzania. In developing Miombo Hewani, Windlab has applied the industry best practices and experience it has gained from developing more than 50 wind energy projects across North America, Australia and Southern Africa.”
He added “Miombo Hewani enjoys an excellent wind resource; not only amongst the best on the continent, but one of the best in the world. The wind resource pattern is biased towards night time generation and generation during the dry season in Tanzania, making it an ideal addition for Tanzania’s current and planned electricity generation mix.”
The Wangingo’mbe District Commissioner, Ali Kassinge, who has been a champion for this project in his district, said: “The Wanging’ombe District Council has been happy to work with Windlab as they develop a first of its kind wind farm in Tanzania. We look forward to the project being built and the benefits that will be realized at the local and district level due to the jobs created and the income that it will bring”.
Tanzania Energy
Tanzania has abundant energy resources such as hydro, natural gas, coal, uranium, wind, geothermal, biomass, solar, tidal and wave.
About 85% of the total primary energy supply in Tanzania comes from biomass (mainly firewood and charcoal), while other energy sources include petroleum (9%), electricity (4.5%), and other renewable energy sources (1.2%).
As of 2016, Tanzania’s total power installed capacity is 1,357.69 MW composed of hydro 566.79 MW (42%), natural gas 607 MW (45%) and liquid fuel 173.40 MW (13%).
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