Tanzania targets 1,892 MW from solar, wind and other renewables by 2030

Tanzania expects sources including solar, wind and biomass to account for 1,892 megawatts of its planned electricity generation capacity by 2030, the Ministry of Energy said on 13 November. The government’s target for installed capacity across all sources is 8,000 MW by the end of the decade.

James Mataragio, the ministry’s permanent secretary for oil and gas, outlined the targets on 12 November at Renewable Energy Week in Dar es Salaam. He put current installed capacity at 4,667.19 MW, including 2,726.34 MW of hydropower and 1,281.19 MW of natural gas. Installed capacity measures what plants can produce at full output at a given moment. Actual output varies with operating conditions, fuel supply and weather.

The ministry said the first 50 MW of the 150 MW Kishapu solar project in Shinyanga was already supplying the national grid. It expects to connect the remaining 100 MW in 2027. The French development agency AFD financed the first phase alongside work to help the grid accommodate variable solar output.

A separate 130 MW solar project at Zuzu in Dodoma is at the procurement stage, the ministry said. It described other solar, wind and geothermal projects as being at various stages of preparation.

Mataragio cited loan guarantees, blended finance and domestic lending as ways to raise investment for renewable energy and clean cooking. A separate US$2 million programme is supporting work on Tanzania’s power investment rules and preparation of pilot projects.