Wind Energy in Tanzania

High quality wind potential determination increases the safety of investment

In order to get precise wind data for the future wind power plant it is crucial to determine the site specific wind conditions at hub height. Recently Ge:Net GmbH has delivered and installed a 90 m tilt-up lattice met mast including a complete measurement system in Tanzania.

The met mast site is located at the centre of Tanzania. After a couple of weeks of measurement the wind data look very promising and make a profitable wind farm operation very likely.

Background information:

Tanzania has become more and more interesting for investors and wind farm developers in the last couple of years. Tanzania’s political economy is one of the fastest growing in Africa and worldwide. The gross domestic product of Tanzania could be more than triplicated in the last 15 years. The country is benefiting from local natural resources, a stable political climate and a direct access to the Indian Ocean.

In 2011 Tanzania was on position 127 on the worldwide ranking with 845 MW installed wind power. Within three years the installed wind power has nearly doubled and rose to 1583 MW. One of the big electric power suppliers and investors in Tanzania is the state-owned electric supplier Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) with about one million customers, gaining 90,000 more every year.

The structure of the electrical power supply in Tanzania is very diverse. Large parts of the country are not yet connected to the power grid, in some regions smaller and larger island networks exist. These networks are mainly equipped with diesel power generators. The diesel price is set by the government in Tanzania and is relatively high. Therefore the investment in renewable energy by replacing diesel generators is rewarding twice energetically as well as financially.