TDBP launched in Tanzania

With its rapidly increasing population putting pressure on the regeneration capacity of current energy sources such as charcoal and firewood, the VP of Tanzania Mohamed Gharib Bilal is urging the government to explore alternative options.

'The increasing population is a threat to continued use of firewood and charcoal since they cannot meet the growth,' he states.

The majority of Tanzania's homes use firewood and charcoal as the main energy source, while electricity is the major source of power for just 14% of the population. With this in mind, Balil believes that energy generated from biogas is an excellent option worth investing in.

'Deliberate measures must be taken to reduce this dependency, otherwise we will be doomed in the long run,' Balil continues.

2.5% of the 80% of inhabitants living in rural areas are connected to electricity. Here, the reliance on firewood and charcoal is great due to the number of families living on low incomes.

Now, under the Tanzania Domestic Biogas Development Programme (TDBP), supported by the Netherlands, which was launched on 26 March 2011, €16 million will go towards building 12,000 biogas plants.

As the programme's coordinator Lehada Cyprian Shila explains: 'TDBP aims to construct 12,000 biogas plants in the first phase ending 2013, thereby providing cleaner and safer energy solutions at the household level.'

So far 1,439 units of biogas have been installed in Tanzania.