Tanzania has a wide range of energy resources in abundance, which are not yet fully exploited. These include;

wood fuel Wood fuel (or fuelwood) is a fuel such as firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. In many areas, wood is the most easily availabl ...

, other biomass fuels,

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

, geothermal,

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

and solar.

Renewable energy

Tanzania has a large untapped renewable energy potential. Of the country’s total generation capacity, close to 80% of Tanzania electricity comes from renewable energy, with natural gas contributing 892.72MW and Hydro electric power 573.70MW of the total 1,601.84 megawatts, as of April 2020. According to the government of Tanzania, generation projects in the pipeline include: (a) Ruhudji (358MW), Kakono (87MW), Rumakali (222MW), Malagarasi (45MW), Kikonge (300MW), Kinyerezi I Extension (185MW) and Mtwara (300MW). Solar power is widely used in rural areas, with 65 percent of rural households having access to solar energy sources.

Electricity

As of July 2020, Tanzania had installed grid generation capacity of 1,601.84 megawatts. The table below illustrates the generation mix as of then, in the Tanzanian national grid. *Note 1: Totals are slightly off due to rounding. *Note 2: The hydroelectric figures exclude 2,115 MW from

Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station (JNHS; RHHP; Rufiji Hydroelectric Power Project; Stiegler's Gorge Dam) is a hydroelectric dam under construction across the Rufiji River in eastern Tanzania. Although controversial, the government approved the ...

and 50 MW from Malagarasi Hydroelectric Power Station, both still under development. Biomass constitutes over 90 percent of the country's primary energy consumption. This accounts for deforestation of annually. Reforestation restores only about 25 percent of that annually. As of April 2020, 73.2 percent of Tanzania's urban areas and 24.5 percent of her rural areas have access to electricity. The electrical supply varies, particularly when droughts disrupt hydropower electric generation; rolling blackouts are implemented as necessary. Nearly a quarter of electricity generated is lost because of poor transmission infrastructure. The unreliability of the electrical supply has hindered the development of Tanzanian industry.Lake, Joseph. "Economy". In

Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

is a key area in the supply chain of petroleum products across Tanzania and as an emerging industrial zone, the port attracts major international companies. A major supplier of petroleum products in the region is Dalbit Petroleum who rely on the port as part of their operations and have developed a well-organized supply chain through the port since the company’s regional inception in 2007.

Way forward

In 2016, the ''Energy Access Situation Survey'' indicated that "32.8 percent of the households in the Tanzania Mainland were connected to electricity", as of that year. Demand for connection was growing at 10 to 15 percent annually. A major objective was achieved in 2015, when the country phased out emergency generation centers using "high-cost" liquid fossil fuels. The completion of the

Mtwara–Dar es Salaam Natural Gas Pipeline The Mtwara–Dar es Salaam Natural Gas Pipeline (MDNGP), is a pipeline that transports natural gas from Tanzania's natural gas fields in Mnazi Bay, Mtwara Region to Dar es Salaam. Location The pipeline starts in ''Madimba Village'', in Mtwara Re ...

, with commissioning in October that year ensures a constant supply of

to meet generation requirements of the large gas power stations in the country's largest city. The Tanzanian government aims to reach generation capacity of at least 5,000 megawatts in the medium term and 10,000 megawatts in the long term. While the country's offshore gas reserves discovered by

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

and

Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...

have remained undeveloped for many years, new political leadership since 2021 has given hope that Tanzania may become an exporter of LNG by 2030. As of 2022, negotiations were back on the table to develop the 10 million tonnes per annum Tanzania Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, with final investment decision (FID), expected in 2025. The projected cost is US$30 billion.

References

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