Tanzania - 210-megawatt wind energy farm to be built in the Singida region

A group of South Korean investors plans to build a 210-megawatt wind-power farm in Tanzania’s central Singida region by 2011 at a cost of $400 million, Chris Incheul Chae, chief executive officer of Good P.M Group, said.

The project, which comprises of 100 wind-generating turbines of up to 60 feet each (18.3 meters), will be located about 150 kilometers (94 miles) northwest of Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, Chae, said today in an interview at Stone Town in Zanzibar.

Chae’s group has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the 500-hectare (1,235-acre) property in Singida from Tanzania’s Power Pool East Africa Ltd., he said. Korean contractors will start construction of the wind farm by year end, said Chae. In the second phase, the group may acquire 900 hectares of adjoining land and build as much as 1,800 megawatts of capacity, he added.

About 90 percent of Tanzania’s population has no access to power. Peak demand for electricity is about 782 megawatts, compared with a capacity of 570 megawatts, with demand growing at about 15 percent a year, Minister for Energy and Minerals William Ngeleja said.

For more information please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net