The Future Deployment of Solar Thermal Energy Technologies in Tanzania

Sameer Hameer*, Johannes L van Niekerk

Stellenbosch University, Private Bag XI, Matieland, 7602, South Africa; Phone: +27-(0)76
938 5933; Fax: +27-(0)21-808 4277; E-Mail: hameer@sun.ac.za

Abstract
This paper presents the challenges involved in the future deployment of solar thermal energy
technologies in Tanzania from a strategic framework. There is an inherent need to improve
electricity access in the rural reach of Tanzania through solar thermal energy technologies
such as concentrating solar power (CSP). However, due to the dilapidated grid and
infrastructure required for a CSP plant complimented with lack of industries and tariff
structure has made grid scale CSP a challenge to deploy in the energy mix of Tanzania
supplemented with the lack of a comprehensive energy policy. The existing information
regarding solar thermal deployment in Tanzania is poorly documented, which makes it
difficult to gauge the progress in a systematic manner. Feed-in tariff topologies/schemes
need to be effectively formulated and optimized based on the type and size of the technology
complimented with the incubation of independent power producers in the country. There is
potential for micro/mini scale CSP including hybrid systems for decentralized rural
electrification in Tanzania. Solar water heating systems up thrust has been at a staggering
low due to lack of conformity to structurally sound homes that have proper plumbing in the
rural areas. The establishment of energy centre/s in research and academic institutions in
Tanzania is pivotal to the successful deployment of renewable energy in the country that is
strategically aligned with the energisation plan of the country complimented with
collaborative frameworks with stakeholders.
Keywords: Tanzania, csp, tariff, solar thermal, independent power producers, hybrid
systems, rural electrification, solar water heating.
1. Introduction
Tanzania is a country located in East Africa having an area of about 945,203 square
kilometers and a population of roughly 44.9 million people according to a 2012 census from
the national bureau of statistics. The livelihood of about 75% of the population is subsistence
agriculture, which is predominant in the rural reaches of Tanzania [2]. The Achilles heel of
Tanzania is energy poverty and that is substantiated by the low electrification rate of less
than 7% [2]. The population projections from 2015 up to 2035 are shown in Figure 1 [2].

Figure 1 Population projection of Tanzania [2]

Tanzania has an astoundingly high multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) of

about 0.84 in tandem with very low annual electricity consumption per capita of less than
100 kWh. The average annual electricity consumption per capita worldwide and in Sub-
Saharan Africa is 2000 kWh and 552 kWh respectively for comparative purposes [2]. This
aspect is substantiated in Figure 2 [2].

Figure 2 Socioeconomic comparison metrics [2].

 The solar energy potential for Tanzania in terms of direct normal irradiance (DNI) and
global horizontal irradiance (GHI) are illustrated in Figures 3 [1] and 4 [1] respectively.
Tanzania has three developed cities namely Dar-es-Salaam, Arusha, and Mwanza. Hence,
according to Figure 3, large scale concentrating solar power (CSP) is not feasible in the
regions enlisted for favourable DNI primarily due to lack of infrastructure, water, and grid
connectivity. Hence, micro scale CSP has potential in the form of dish sterling engine and
linear Fresnel systems. Tanzania has a favourable GHI potential as shown in Figure 4, and,
therefore, has applicability in the arena of solar photovoltaics, solar ovens, and solar water
heaters.

Figure 3 DNI map for Tanzania [1].

 Figure 4 GHI map for Tanzania [1].

Solar thermal energy in Tanzania has been utilized predominantly in the agricultural
sector for the drying of agricultural products [2]. The need and applicability of solar dryers
and solar cookers in Tanzania has been thrusted forward by the collaborative effort between
academic institutions such as University of Dar-es-Salaam and Sokoine University of
Agriculture with stakeholders such as TaTEDO [2]. Solar drying of coffee and fruits has
been predominant in the northern and western parts of Tanzania [5]. There is a lack of
comprehensive information on the aspect of solar drying in Tanzania [7]. The Dar-es-Salaam
Institute of Technology has developed an experimental cost effective 20 kW hybrid
parabolic heliostat concentrator, as shown in Figure 5 [3].
 Figure 5 Parabolic heliostat concentrator [3].

Tanzania’s solar energy market has been exclusively dominated by solar photovoltaics,
which has a meagre installed capacity of 4 MWP and around 40,000 solar home systems [4,
5]. The solar water heaters deployment is at a staggering low of around 1000 to 3000
systems compared to 55,000 to 75,000 systems being installed in the neighbouring country,
Kenya [4]. The total number of solar water heaters installed in the year 2000 was below
100, attesting the slow take-off rate of solar water heaters [6]. Tanzania’s solar energy
market in its embodiment has constituencies in the form of trajectories similar to the
Kenyan solar market with the exception of being invariably slow paced due to the lack of
well-developed industrial baseline structure [4]. The Achilles heel behind the slow uptake
of solar water heaters in Tanzania has been primarily attributed to the unreliable statistical
information available [8].

2. Estimate of the market deployment

The major problem in Tanzania is the underdeveloped regional reach which doesn’t
have access to the national grid. 90% of the population of Tanzania doesn’t have access to
electricity. This surmounts to a rural electrification rate of 2.5%. There is a need for
implementation of renewable energy technologies to build the infrastructure of Tanzania’s
underdeveloped regional reach which doesn’t have access to the national grid. The
renewable energy potential and current exploitation of Tanzania is shown in Table 1 [9].

Table 1: Energy Resources in Tanzania [9].

Resource Potential Degree of Exploitation (as of 2010)
Hydro 4,7000 MW 561 MW
Annual 15 million tons of
Biomass residues crops and 1.1 million Estimated sustainable 24.3 million m3
tons of forest residues annually
 Solar Average - 187Wm-2 1.5MW electricity

Wind Speed: 0.9 - 4.8 m/s Initial ~129 windmills ( >10kW )

special sites have up to 8 m/s

Geothermal Limited assessment Not exploited

 650 MW
Ocean Energy Not accessed Not exploited

Tanzania’s current power demand is between 800 MW and 1000 MW. Tanzania’s
interconnected grid system has an installed capacity of 773 MW, of which 71% is
hydropower. The total capacity of hydropower generation is 561 MW. The current supply
is invariably lower than the stated value due to dilapidated technologies being currently
used which has exacerbated the energy crisis. The installed capacities of the hydropower
facilities are: Kidatu power station (204 MW); Mtera (80 MW); Kihansi (180 MW);
Pangani (68 MW); Hale (21 MW); and Nyumba ya Mungu (8 MW). Thermal generation in
Tanzania currently relies on imported heavy fuel oil; Jet A (aviation) fuel; and diesel. The
installed capacity of thermal power facilities are: IPTL (100 MW); and Ubungo power
station (112 MW). Tanzania has around 30 MW of thermal generation in isolated areas that
are not connected to the grid. Tanzania also imports 10 MW of electric power for Kagera
Region from Masaka susbstation in Uganda while Sumbawanga, Tunduma, and Mbozi
districts receive about 3 MW from neighboring Zambia. There is only one major
government owned electricity provider in Tanzania, called TANESCO. Hence, this makes
it very difficult to create the seeding for the growth of independent power producers.

The country faces a major challenge of providing 90% of the remaining population
access to electricity in its rural reach. There are approximately 6.5 million rural households
in Tanzania with an average head count of approximately 5 [2]. Additionally, the structural
integrity of the majority of the households does not conform to grid connectivity regardless
of the availability of the grid. There are about 1 to 5% of households that have electricity in
villages that are grid connected, which leaves about 5.1 million homes without power [7, 8,
10]. The number of new grid connections is about 36,000 per year [11]. The Achilles heel
of the problem is the huge investment required for building the electricity infrastructure
complimented with the dilapidated transportation network and lack of an industrial
platform in terms of local content. Hence, this makes it difficult to implement large scale
CSP plants such as parabolic troughs and power towers. The lack of appropriate feed-in
tariff (FiT) schemes is a hindrance to large scale renewable energy development.
3. Strategy for Deployment
The technical challenges involved in deploying renewable energy technologies involves
stability of the grid, frequency and voltage, security of supply, back-up-systems, storage,
maintenance while the economic/social challenges involves financing of the system, feed-in
and use of energy/electricity with a tariff structure or fixed prices, operational models,
inclusion and participation, community social dynamics, and income generation. The
political challenges include but are not limited to coherent energy concepts regarding the
relation between centralized and decentralized energy concepts, and financial support
schemes. Hence, the strategy for deployment requires a system of systems approach to the
challenges highlighted above.

Feed in tariffs and time of day tariffs in the case of large scale CSP with thermal energy
storage need to be formulated according to the type of technology, size, and application, as
opposed to having a fixed feed-in tariff scheme that is based on hydro power and
implemented across all the other renewable energy technologies, as is the case for Tanzania
[24]. Feed-in tariff schemes/topologies need to developed and as discussed in the literature
[12-23] are essential for grid scale CSP to incubate and create a seeding ground for investors.
In addition, a comprehensive energy policy needs to be formulated and envisioned along the
energisation plan for Tanzania. Government incentives and massive subsidies are required
to improve infrastructure, grid access, local content, and proximity/availability of water in
areas suitable for large scale CSP in the country. The lack of and/or few independent power
producers in the country along with monopolisation by TANESCO is a blockade to progress.
Grid scale CSP will remain a challenge in Tanzania unless some of these changes are
implemented strategically. There remains a potential for small scale CSP in the area of
hybrid systems and decentralized rural electrification. Solar thermal systems such as solar
water heating are a challenge unless proper plumbing and structurally sound homes are
conformed to in the rural areas.

There is a need to develop an energy centre/s at the educational institutions in Tanzania,

whereby the the main objective of the centre would be to conduct research and consultancy
related to energy within the country and take part in international research, development and
application of commercially viable, large-scale technologies for both fossil and renewable
energy sources. In achieving the main objective, the following are specific objectives:-
(i) Addressing and providing optimal solutions to the energy problems in Tanzania
(ii) Developing solar, wind, and fuel test laboratory
(iii) Conducting a comprehensive resource assessment and balance of renewable
energy potential in Tanzania
(iv) Writing research grant proposals for funding purposes of the center and looking
for partner institutions and stakeholders as potential donors
(v) Facilitate the collaboration of engineers and researchers and other stake holders
solve the acute energy problem in Tanzania
(vi) Equip the center laboratories with state-of-the-art instrumentation and apparatus
designed to facilitate the center’s "objective of excellence in research and
development through commitment and perseverance."
(vii) Conduct research, design, development and deployment of energy technologies
(viii) Educate the public and practitioners on fossil and renewable energy & energy
conservation
 (ix) Carry out consultancy assignment in connection with Energy Auditing, Energy
Management & Energy Education to different stakeholders
(x) Assess the availability of the energy resources in Tanzania

4. Conclusion
 The future deployment of solar thermal energy technologies for electricity generation
both from the perspective of grid scale and micro/mini scale in Tanzania remains a
hurdle unless efforts are made to improve the infrastructure and grid access in the
rural reaches of country through government subsidies and donor funding schemes
that are void of corruption. Solar water heating deployment has been a challenge as
well due lack of conformity to structural integrity of rural households in Tanzania.
 The monopolisation of TANESCO has led to few investors and independent power
producers, thus, limiting the public-private integration in solving the energy crisis of
Tanzania and increasing the risk associated with the investment of renewables.
 The lack of energy centre/s with 21st century state of the art technologies in Tanzania
has made it difficult to gauge the potential resource and energy balance of the country
complimented with lack of technical know-how exchange between research
institutions and stakeholders.
 The lack of reliable data regarding solar thermal progress in Tanzania complimented
with the lack of industries and local content has been a major barrier in the
implementation process.
 The lack of feed-in tariff schemes/topologies has also contributed to the slow
deployment of solar thermal energy technologies. The constant feed in tariff based
on hydro power that has been applied all across the board has been the major obstacle
in the realization of renewable energy technologies.

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