Masdar, an Emirati state-owned renewable energy company, has agreed to develop 2 GW of renewable energy capacity in Tanzania with the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO). Abdulla Zayed, the head of Masdar Business Development and Investment, inked a joint development agreement with TANESCO managing director Maharage Chande. The two companies will create a co-owned joint venture (JV) to progress project development as part of its collaboration.
Masdar and TANESCO will initially focus on developing 600 MW of capacity across solar PV and onshore wind assets under the JV. The JV also seeks to explore opportunities for another 2 GW of renewable energy projects. Tanzania’s sole electricity provider, TANESCO, plans to add more renewable energy capacity to the country’s national grid in order to fulfil rising demand for electricity and energy access. Tanzania’s government aims to achieve a nationwide electrification rate of 75 per cent by 2035.
In August 2022, Masdar reached financial close on its Garadagh solar photovoltaic plant in Azerbaijan. The 230 MW solar project is the company’s first in Azerbaijan, as well as the country’s first independently funded solar project. In addition to displacing more than 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, Garadagh would be able to produce 500 million kWh of electricity annually, enough to power over 110,000 homes.
