Wind power In Tanzania: first wind farm

NDC with a 51 per cent stake in the wind power project and a privately owned company, Power Pool East Africa Ltd, with 49 shares, will service the loan for 20 years. The Singida wind farm is expected to be fully operational in the next five years.

Total secured land currently for the project is 1,450ha but the acreage will be extended to 5,000ha. NDC indicates that the Singida Wind Power project, which is located about 12km East of Singida Municipality, will start by generating at least 50MW by next year.

“The wind turbines project expects to extend power generation up to 300 MW, in few years,” Mr Nasari explained.

The demand for power in Tanzania is growing by more than 50 MW a year, fuelled partly by an expansion of mining undertakings in parts of the country.

Currently, hydro is the major source of electricity in Tanzania. The wind farm in Singida will mean that power-dependent industries will soon be provided with electricity generated locally.

The wind farm will benefit the local economy, providing jobs during the construction phase and also when it is fully operational.

Wind power on a commercial scale is unknown in sub-Saharan Africa despite the existence of consistently strong winds, especially along the top of the rift valley, the mountain plateau which runs through East Africa from Ethiopia to Malawi and Mozambique.

In Europe, the industry is well developed. Germany, the European leader in terms of generation, produces more than 25 gigawatts of power from wind turbines.

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