Opportunity to Invest in Wind Energy Potential in Tanzania

Although wind energy is one of the most efficient renewable energy sources, it is very variable compared to other sources of energy. 

  It is also more sensitive to variations in topography and weather patterns compared to solar energy. Wind energy can be harvested at an economical level of the wind turbine is sited in a windy area and a careful choice of the type of wind turbine that matches the wind pattern of the site is made. Thorough knowledge of the wind speed characteristics at a site of interest is very important in planning to harvest the wind energy.

A study on wind speed pattern and the available wind power in Tanzania was conducted by Kainkwa and Uiso (1989). The research revealed that a large part of the country has high wind potential. Some sites that had steady and strong winds were identified. It was suggested that further detailed studies should be conducted to investigate the actual wind power at those specific sites. The Setchet site in Hanang District, Manyara Region was chosen for the present study because preliminary studies indicated that wind speed there is relatively high and constant compared to the other sites.

More recent studies have shown that the Kititimo and Makambako areas have adequate wind speed for grid-scale electricity generation. At Kititimo wind speeds average 9.9 miles per second and at Makambako they averaged 8.9 miles per second at a height of 30 m. To date, four companies have expressed interest in investing in wind energy: Geo-Wind Tanzania Ltd. and Wind East Africa in Singida, and Sino Tan Renewable Energy Ltd. and Wind Energy Tanzania Ltd. in Makambako. These companies are considering investments in wind farms in the 50–100MW range.

Not just those aforementioned sites above but as an Energy field expert especially ( In renewable energy), Mr. Kaare Manyama, Jacob shared information that ''Tanzania has plentiful wind resources along the coastline, the highland plateau, and regions of the Rift Valley ie Singida, Dodoma, Rukwa, Katavi, Kigoma, Manyara, and Arusha, on the plains and around the Great Lakes. Several areas of Tanzania are known to have promising wind resources. In areas where assessments have been conducted, only Kititimo (Singida) and Makambako (Iringa) have been identified as having adequate wind speeds for grid-scale electricity generation. At Kititimo wind speeds average 9.9 m/s and at Makambako they averaged 8.9 m/s at a height of 30 m. MEM, in collaboration with TANESCO, is conducting wind resource assessments in Mkumbara (Tanga), Karatu (Arusha), Gomvu (Dar es Salaam), Litembe (Mtwara), Makambako (Iringa), Mgagao (Kilimanjaro) and Kititimo (Singida), where electricity generation has started.''