Achieving development goals with renewable energy – the case of Tanzania

Abstract

Lack of reliable access to electricity is a significant barrier to economic development and job creation in Tanzania. Currently, only 14% of the population has access to electricity; in rural areas the electrification rate hovers around 2%. Power outages are frequent – especially during droughts, which cripple the hydroelectric power on which most of the country depends.

This policy brief, by Lutz Weischer of World Resources Institute for CDKN, is about the Small Power Projects (SPP) programme that Tanzania designed – with very limited financial resources – to support renewable energy deployment. These decentralised renewable energy projects are helping Tanzania to address her power challenges while avoiding growth in greenhouse gas emissions.

Citation

Weischer, L. Achieving development goals with renewable energy – the case of Tanzania. Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), (2012) 6 pp. [Inside Stories on climate compatible development]

Achieving development goals with renewable energy – the case of Tanzania

Published 1 January 2012