SWECO has been awarded an assignment to map out how the rural population of Tanzania will be able to gain access to electricity. The assignment is worth over two million euros.

73 per cent of Tanzania’s inhabitants live in rural areas and only one per cent of them have access to electricity. For this reason, funds are now being invested to map out the existing conditions, so that home produced renewable energy may be developed.

“We have implemented several similar large assignments in the area and it is gratifying that our expertise is sought after once again. The assignment supports development in the whole of Tanzania and the people’s living standards will be raised considerably,” advises Anders Ståhl, Head of International Operations at SWECO’s Energy unit, Energuide.

Large amounts of wood are currently used in rural Tanzania and the collection of such is time consuming and can be dangerous. At the same time as access to electricity increases, deforestation will decrease and life for ordinary people will be made much easier.

SWECO’s Energy Consultants shall compile an inventory concerning where in the country resources such as wind, sun, gas, biomass, small-scale hydropower and geothermic power, can best be used in order to generate electricity. The objective is to produce a plan detailing how the rural population’s need for electricity can be catered for within the next 15 years. The results of the work will then form the basis of the electrification of the parts of the country that completely lack access.

The Tanzanian electricity company TANESCO is the client and the assignment will be implemented in collaboration with German company Decon. The African Development Bank is providing the finance.