During a tour to inspect the potential geothermal sites in the Mbeya region, Energy Secretary Eng Felchesmi Mramba reiterated the plans of the government of Tanzania to develop 200 MW of geothermal power generation capacity by 2025.

Eng Mramba said that 52 areas have already been identified for potential geothermal development spread across the regions of Mbeya, Arusha, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Shinyanga, Morogoro, Mwara, Manyara, Kagera, Katavi, Rukwa, Tanga, Singidi, and Songwe.

“The government intends to inject into the national grid a total of 1100 MW produced from renewable energy such as geothermal, solar, and wind before 2025.” said Eng Mramba. Similar to other countries in East Africa, Tanzania is in dire need of diversifying its electricity mix.

Geothermal is of particular interest to the Tanzanian government because of its stability and reliability. As Mramba commented, geothermal can sustain even during droughts or rains, unlike other sources of renewable power.

Currently, the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC) is exploring several sites for geothermal development. These include Ngozi in Mbeya and Songwe regions, Kiejo-Mbaka in Mbeya, Natron in Arusha, and Luhoi in the coastal region. As we reported, drilling of the first well in Kiejo-Mbaka commenced on March 2021. TGDC also purchased a drilling rig in 2021 initially for exploration drilling in the Ngozi region.

TGDC Acting General Manager Eng Mathew Mwangomba said that the Kiejo-Mbaka site has a potential to produce 60 MW of geothermal power while another 70 MW is expected from the Ngozi site.