Tanzania’s US$18bn energy plan

Tanzania’s President Samia Hassan will present an US$18 billion plan to build renewable
power generation in southern Africa at talks in Egypt as leaders from the continent seek
to increase climate finance in the region.

Under the proposal, a bloc of 12 countries in the region would increase generation by
about 8,4 gigawatts from sources such as solar and wind, Tanzanian Energy Minister
January Makamba said in an interview. Hassan was scheduled to host a meeting of the
nations’ leaders and financial institutions yesterday at the COP27 climate summit in
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The move may help Hassan goad developed nations, who have been asking African
economies to focus on renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, to back up their call with
financing.

There’s also been a trickle of funding for renewable energy projects on the continent,
which made up about 1 percent of the global total of renewable deals last year, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“It’s a very timely occasion at this COP to talk about infusing renewables” into the
Southern African Power Pool, Makamba said. “You want us to transition? This is the
opportunity.”

South Africa, which is the continent’s most industrialised nation and mainly depends on
coal for power, is working on an US$8,5 billion climate-finance deal to transition from
the dirty fuel. The government has proposed to spend 90 percent of the funding offered
by wealthy nations on replacing the plants with renewable generation. — Bloomberg./The Herald