Tanzania approves its first Wind Farm Project

Miombo Hewani has been approved for up to 300MW of capacity. It will be built in phases; the first phase of the project will be around 100MW and include up to 34 wind turbines as well as electrical infrastructure connecting the wind farm to national electricity grid at the Makambako substations. The first phase alone will bring up to US$300M of investment to the country.

The ESIA Certificate is the first to be issued in the country for a wind farm project and was signed on 30th May 2018 by The Minister of State, Vice-President’s Office, Union and Environment, The Honourable January Yusuf Makamba (MP). The ESIA is the formal and comprehensive assessment of the environmental and social consequences of a project prior to construction.

The process of obtaining an ESIA Certificate is complex and involves multiple independent studies, consultants, stakeholders and institutions, which have all given their stamp of approval for the project at the Isimike, Igomba and Itengelo villages, Sasa Ward in Wangingo’mbe district, Njombe Region, including the professional national environmental body and the National Environment Management Council.

In his remarks, the CEO of Windlab Limited, Roger Price, said: “We are very pleased to receive the first EISA for a wind farm in Tanzania. In developing Miombo Hewani, Windlab has applied the industry best practices and experience it has gained from developing more than 50 wind energy projects across North America, Australia and Southern Africa.” He added “Miombo Hewani enjoys an excellent wind resource; not only amongst the best on the continent, but one of the best in the world. The wind resource pattern is biased towards night time generation and generation during the dry season in Tanzania, making it an ideal addition for Tanzania’s current and planned electricity generation mix.”

The Wangingo’mbe District Commissioner, Ali Kassinge, who has been a champion for this project in his district, said: “The Wanging’ombe District Council has been happy to work with Windlab as they develop a first of its kind wind farm in Tanzania. We look forward to the project being built and the benefits that will be realized at the local and district level due to the jobs created and the income that it will bring”.

Frank Tarimo, a Project Development Engineer with Windlab Tanzania said; “ Windlab and I have been working to develop the Miombo Hewani project for over 3 years; I am very happy to see that all our hard work has led to the project receiving its environmental approval and paving the way for Tanzania’s first ever wind farm. I look forward to the day when I can travel to Makambako and see the wind turbines operating”.

“The wind farm will operate for at least 25 years and generate enough power to supply nearly 1 million average Tanzanian homes.” Summed up Tarimo.

To help fund the investment required to develop the project Windlab was successful at securing an Energy and Environment Partnership grant from Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Windlab will seek to secure further development finance investment to assist with the construction of the project.

Windlab has been and will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Energy, Tanesco and the Tanzanian Investment Bank to ensure that the project can be built successfully to benefit the local farmers, community and the nation as a whole.