Tanzania: research uncovers the potential of mini-grids
The expansion of mini-grids in Tanzania, enabled by bold
and adaptive energy policies, is bridging the gap for the population lacking
access to electricity.
Area covered by the mini-grids project. Credit:World
Resources Institute.
This is according to a new report compiled by the Tanzania
Traditional Energy Development Organisation (TaTEDO) and World Resources
Institute (WRI), which highlights that more than 70% of the population still
lack access to electricity.
The report, Accelerating Mini-grid Deployment in
Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Tanzania, was released on Wednesday in Dar es
Salaam.
Regional leader in mini-grids
The report has found that Tanzania now has 109
mini-grids, serving over 180,000 people. The country’s mini-grids’ 157.7MW of
installed capacity consists of; hydro, biomass, hybrid, fossil fuel and solar
systems.
By comparison, Tanzania’s central grid has an installed
generation capacity of approximately 1,500MW, with mostly hydro and natural
gas, serving around 9 million people.
Commenting about the report, Deputy Minister for energy
and minerals, Dr. Medard Kalemani, said: “Given the challenges of insufficient
electricity and difficulties for the national grid to reach all areas in the
country, it is essential to develop mini-grids, micro-grids and stand-alone electrification."
Kalemani continued: “As a country, we are committed in
promoting renewable energy technologies by making sure that proper frameworks
and other enabling environments are in place to facilitate investments.
Off-grid electrification using renewable energy technologies can offer a power
solution to rural and remote areas.
“Tanzania is committed to implementing Sustainable
Development Goal 7 that by 2030 will ensure most of the population access to
modern energy services and will double the share of renewable energy in the
energy mix.”
According to the study, by 2040, an estimated 140 million
rural Africans will get electricity from mini-grids, requiring more than
100,000 mini-grids to be built.
Rural electrification
Rural electrification is said to be a key component of
the government’s plan to make Tanzania a middle-income country by
2025. Given the country’s large size and low rural population density extension
of the national grid to many isolated rural areas is not economically feasible.
The report noted that government estimates that
about half the rural population may be more cost-effectively served by
decentralised options than by centralised grid expansion. Read more...
“We’ve long heard that Tanzania is a regional leader in
mini-grid development. Our research establishes the fact,” said Estomih
Sawe, executive director, TaTEDO.
“As we collected data for this report, we saw how
mini-grids can support schools, health clinics and small businesses in
Tanzania’s rural communities. We need more information about how mini-grid
development can help households across Tanzania.”
Low-cost investment
In 2008, Tanzania adopted a new regulatory framework to
encourage low-cost investment in mini-grids, called the small power producers
(SPP) framework, which resulted in the number of mini-grids doubling.
The financial mechanism created – a feed-in tariff – was
technology neutral, which favoured biomass and hydro development. However, a
2015 revision to the policy encouraged solar and wind development.
Furthermore, in June this year, the Energy and Water
Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), approved a third generation mini-grid
framework.
The third generation rules provide several important
improvements to create an enabling regulatory environment, including:
Allowing mini-grids at multiple locations to acquire a
single license (above 1MW) or registration for mini-grids using the same
technology (below 1 MW);
Defining eligible customers that need not have their
tariffs reviewed by EWURA; providing for provisional registrations for
mini-grids;
Allowing grid-connected mini-grids to operate in islanded
mode when power supply is not available from the main grid;
And providing additional clarity and credibility on the
calculation of compensation for distribution assets when the main grid connects
to a previously isolated mini-grid.
EWURA director of electricity, Eng. Godfrey H.
Chibulunje, said: “The third generation SPP and mini-grid rules represent a
significant next step in our continued efforts to create an enabling
environment for mini grids in Tanzania.”
“With explicit guidance on options for when the main grid
arrives and a simplification of the licensing and registration requirements,
among other important updates, we are confident that these new rules will
encourage even more investment in mini-grids over the next several years,”
Chibulunje added.
Source: esi Africa