**1.1 Background**

Energy is an essential factor in both livelihoods and industrial development. An increase in unsuitable use and excessive consumption of energy has been causing not only local pollution but also global environmental problems such as global warming and climate change. In addition; fossil energy sources such as coal, oil, etc are so limited, if energy security is not fully ensured, such unsuitable use may pose a significant threat to economic activities and even to people's lives. Therefore, to realize sustainable development, a stable energy supply is important as well as an improvement in energy related environmental problem. Renewable energy resources and technologies are one of kind of approaches that if well utilized can play part in enhancing energy security and avoidance of environmental problems emanating from fossil energy sources.

Renewable is a term used for forms of energy which are not exhaustible by use over time. It means that the renewable sources can be regenerated or renewed in a relatively short time. This section focuses on leading renewable energy sources in Tanzania. The leading sources are a result of the assessment conducted in the country. The following are leading renewable sources: biomass, solar, hydropower, wind, solar and geothermal. However, hydropower as one of the leading renewable energy sources in the country is not discussed in this chapter.

In general, the sources of renewable energy can be divided, according to their origin, into natural renewable sources i.e. wind, solar, geothermal etc., and renewable sources resulting from human activity which include: biomass including landfill gas and industrial heat recovery.

The energy balance of the country shows that biomass use accounts for 88 percent of energy consumption in particular in the rural area [Magesa, 2007]. The majority of the rural population relies on biomass as fuel for cooking. Biomass is followed by Petroleum (7 percent), gas (2 percent) etc. Summary of the primary sources in the country is given in Table 1.

Petroleum exploration efforts have been made in the past and are still going on but so far no oil has been found. Therefore, the country relies exclusively on imports of its oil whereby the transport sector consumes more than 40 percent of all petroleum imported. At present, only 70 percent of the demand for petroleum fuel is met. The increase in importation of petroleum products and continuous rise in oil price is heavy burden for the country. With the introduction of right policy, regulation and incentives, the country has a potential of substituting a large percentage of the imported fuel with Biofuel that could be produced within the country.


Table 1. Primary Energy Sources (April 2011)

Renewable energy can effectively solve the problem of global warming and climate change being experienced in the country; in addition, renewable energy technologies can create jobs to young graduate and hence reduce poverty. Promotion of renewable energy technologies has not progressed easily in the country due to economic inefficiency when competing with traditional energies of oil and natural gas. There are two premises from which to promote renewable energy technologies on a large scale use. First, is diversification of the risk to the environment and social-economic activities; secondly, to increase stable energy supply and enhance energy security of the country. Use of renewable energy technologies in the country will have a positive impact on social-economic development of the country in the future.

This chapter focuses on assessment of renewable energy technologies as an alternative approach in electrifying rural Tanzania. In rural Tanzania, there is still an excessive demand and dependence upon traditional energy use. Developing appropriate technologies, efficient extraction of energy from renewable energy sources and use of modern renewable energy technologies to store the generated energy in more efficient manner that has a significant potential to mitigate climate change, offer a sustainable energy supply, create jobs, reduce poverty and achieve a sustainable development.
