Tanzania Energy

Tanzania has abundant energy resources such as hydro, natural gas, coal, uranium, wind, geothermal, biomass, solar, tidal and waves.

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%).

Currently (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%).

Tanzania Energy Sources

Tanzania Hydropower

Hydropower installed capacity in Tanzania stands at 562MW, while estimates of potential additional capacity are as high as 4GW, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Tanzania hydropower capacity relies on the country’s vast water resources, which include lakes such as Lake Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa, Rukwa, Manyara, Eyasi, and Natroni, as well as rivers and basins across the country.

Tanzania Natural Gas Reserves

The recent discoveries of 55.08tn cubic feet of natural gas reserves off the coast of Tanzania have put the country on the world energy map.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals implements its oil & gas exploration and development policies through the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).

The roles of TPDC include promoting and monitoring the exploration of oil & gas, developing and producing oil & gas, contracting concessions, franchises and licenses, conducting research and development of the industry.

TPDC estimates that the country’s gas fields are large enough to cover the domestic power requirements and make Tanzania the next natural gas hub in Africa.

Tanzania Coal Reserves

Coal reserves in Tanzania are estimated at 1.9bn t, 25% of which are proven. The main coal reserves are found at Kiwira, Mchuchuma and Katewaka mines.

The Government of Tanzania, through its State Mining Company (STAMICO) and the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), is planning to produce up to 400MW of electricity from the Kiwira coal mine and develop the Mchuchuma and Katewaka coal mines to generate additional 600MW.

Tanzania Petroleum Imports

Tanzania is a net importer of petroleum products. During the financial year 2014–2015 the country imported a total of 4.6bn l of petroleum products.

2.99bn l were destined to the local market and 1.61bn l were exported to landlocked neighboring countries (Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Malawi and Burundi).

Local petroleum products imports were dominated by diesel with 53% or 1.6bn l, followed by petrol with 31% or 932m l, and other products, including IK, Jet A1 and HFO.

The Dar es Salaam port is the main entry point of petroleum products with 99% of all imports, while the remaining 1% enters Tanzania through the Kenyan border with Sirari.

Tanzania Renewable Energies

On 25th April 2014, the World Bank (WB) approved the Tanzania Renewable Energy Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM) project, which aims to increase access to modern energy services, promoting both isolated mini-grids and national grid renewable energy projects in the country using hydro, solar, wind and biomass technologies for electricity generation.

The project is expected to be completed by 2023 with an overall cost of financing of USD 6.6m provided by the WB’s Carbon Fund.

Tanzania Solar Resources

Tanzania’s sunshine hours per year range between 2,800 and 3,500 with global horizontal radiation of 4–7kWh per m2 per day.

Solar resources in Tanzania are especially present in the central region, and they are being exploited for both off-grid and grid-connected solutions.

To date, about 5.3MWp of Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy have been installed in Tanzania. The Government supports solar development within the country by removing VAT and import taxes on the main solar components (panels, batteries, inverters and regulators).

Tanzania Wind Resources

Tanzania’s wind resource assessments indicate that the Kititimo and Makambako areas have adequate wind speed for grid-scale electricity generation.

At Kititimo wind speeds average 9.9 miles per second and at Makambako they averaged 8.9 miles per second at a height of 30 m.

To date, four companies have expressed interest in investing in wind energy: Geo-Wind Tanzania Ltd. and Wind East Africa in Singida, and Sino Tan Renewable Energy Ltd. and Wind Energy Tanzania Ltd. in Makambako.

These companies are considering investments in wind farms in the 50–100MW range.

Tanzania Biomass Sources

Biomass is Tanzania’s largest energy source, although much of it is produced in traditional and unsustainable ways, the AfDB indicates.

It is estimated that more than 95% of households in Tanzania use firewood and charcoal as their source of energy for cooking. In urban areas, about 71% of all urban households consume charcoal and about 19% consume firewood.

Biomass in Tanzania is presently used for grid generation (around 18MW) and by the agro-industry to generate its own electricity (about 58MW estimated).

Biomass materials (woody biomass and agro-forestry waste) can be converted into solid biofuels, whose production in Tanzania rose by 19% over the period 2008–2013, from 707,239TJ to 839,413TJ.

Tanzania Geothermal Potential

Tanzania has geothermal potential in most parts of the East African Rift Valley System. Estimates indicate a potential exceeding 650MW, with most prospects located in the East African Rift System.

Tanzania’s government established the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC) to specifically deal with the overall development of geothermal resources in the country.

Tanzania Electricity Supply & Demand

Currently (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%).

Tanzania also imports power from Uganda (10 MW), Zambia (5 MW) and Kenya (1MW).

The traditional dependence on hydropower combined with the droughts that are affecting the country, resulted in power supply shortages.

The generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Tanzania, is channeled through TANESCO, which is fully owned by the government and is responsible for 98% of the electricity produced in the country.

To bridge the electricity supply gap in the country, TANESCO contracted Emergency Power Producers (EPP).

The average electricity consumption per capita in Tanzania is 108kWh per year, compared to Sub-Saharan Africa’s average consumption of 550kWh per year, and 2,500kWh average world consumption per year.

However, the demand for electricity in Tanzania is estimated to be growing at 10–15% per year, with currently only 24% of the total population having access to electricity.

In order to meet this demand, the Government is planning to increase Tanzania’s generation capacity by more than 500% in the next 10 years, from 1,583MW in 2014 to 10,000MW in 2025.

To achieve this goal, the Government of Tanzania has embarked on reforming the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) mainly by attracting private capital in the industry.

In line with the ESI Reform Strategy of the Government of Tanzania, electricity connection should increase to 50% by 2025, and 75% by 2033.

Tanzania Rural Electrification

According to the National Census of 2012, about 70% of Tanzanians reside in rural areas whereas only 7% of the rural population is connected to electricity supply.

This is why the Government of Tanzania plans to increase rural connection levels to 50% by 2025 and at least 75% by 2033.

To achieve these targets, more funds will be required for generation, transmission and distribution systems expansion.

For these reasons, the Rural Energy Board (REB), the Rural Energy Agency (REA), and the Rural Energy Fund (REF) were established to promote, stimulate and facilitating access to modern energy services in rural areas of Tanzania.

As explained by REA’s Director General, Lutengano Mwakaesya, the Government’s goal is to electrify all villages in Tanzania by 2021 with a rate of 2,000 villages per year. So far, over 5,000 villages out of 15,290 have been already electrified, mainly through national grid extension.