**2.3 Coal**

44 Renewable Energy – Trends and Applications

area is not consistent; hence the level of water in all the dams used to generate electricity is falling. This trend has affected distribution of electricity in the country. TANESCO, the Government owned utility company responsible for transmission and distribution of

Hydropower is a leading renewable energy resource in the country but it cannot guarantee sustainable supply of electricity. Other resources are needed to supplement energy during drought. Renewable resources such as biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, etc., must be

The country has abundant natural gas reserves in the coastal basin that are estimated at more than 45 billion cubic metres [TIC, 2007]. Significant gas discoveries have been made on the coastal shores of Indian Ocean. Four discoveries of natural gas fields so far have been established in the vicinities of Songo Songo Island (about 250 km south of Dar es salaam in 1974), Mukuranga (about 60 km South of Dar es Salaam, in December 2007), Mnazi Bay (about 450 km south of Dar es Salaam in 1982) and Kiliwani North (about 2.5 km South East of Songo Songo Island in April, 2008), but only two gasfield i.e. Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay

Songo Songo gasfield was estimated at 810 billion standard cubic feet, while proven, probable and possible reserves stood at 1.1 trillion standard cubic feet. Mnazi bay gas reserves are estimated at 2.2 trillion standard cubic feet. The gas from Songo Songo Island is transported by pipeline to Dar es Salaam where it is distributed to electricity generation plant and industries especially cement industry. Natural gas supplied to Songas Power Plant generates about 200 MW of electricity. The generated electricity is fed into the National Electricity grid and distributed to end users by TANESCO. In 2010, TANESCO started operating its own plant at Ubungo to generate 102 MW from natural gas. Symbion Power Plant is a private company using natural gas to generate 112.5 MW. Tegeta is generating 45 MW from natural gas. It is anticipated that in the near future more IPPs will

**[MW]** 

electricity has resorted to introducing load shedding.

exploited as supplement to hydropower resources.

generate power using the same gas from Songo Songo gas field.

Hydropower Stiegler's Gorge 2,100 Hydropower Mpanga 165 Hydropower Ruhudji 358 Hydropower Rumakali 222 Hydropower Lukose & Masigira 118 Hydropower Rusumo Falls 21 **TOTAL 2,984** 

**Energy Source Plant Name Installed Capacity** 

Table 3. Future Hydropower projects (Source EWURA Annual Report 2008/09)

Tanzania. Electricity generated from natural gas is given in Table 4.

In Mtwara the same gas is extracted at Mnazi bay and is used to generate electricity to Mtwara and Lindi Regions. The two regions are not connected to the National electricity grid. Electricity generation from natural gas is increasing and it is anticipated that in the near future, natural gas will replace hydropower as source of electricity generation in

**2.2 Natural gas** 

are producing.

Coal is another resource of primary fuel available in the Country. Coal is found in Kiwira, Mchuchuma and recently in Ngaka. It is estimated that the country has more than 1,200 Million metric tons of coal. Kiwira coal mine supplied between 4-6MW of electricity to the grid annually when it was working; However, now it is closed. Current plan is to revamp the mine so that it can be able to generate power so as to curb power shortages especially during drought seasons when hydro plants are affected. About 1.5 million tons per annum are expected to be mined at the Mchuchuma coalfield where about 400 MW thermal power plants will be built in an effort to increase reliability and security of grid power. Ngaka mine is also expected to be functional in the near future. Apart from grid electricity generation, coal is used in some industries such as cement and paper mills. However, its use is still low. In this aspect its contribution to energy mix of the country is almost negligible.
