A.H.

Nzali

Wind Energy Utilization in Tanzania

Wind Energy Utilization in Tanzania

Aggrey H. Nzali
Electrical Power Engineering Department University of Dar es Salaam P.O. 35131, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
aggreynzali@yahoo.co.uk

Salvatory J.S. Mushi

Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology P.O. Box 4302, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Stambuli2002@yahoo.com

Abstract - This paper presents the utilization of wind energy in Tanzania. The paper highlights the various wind energy usage in the country based on a survey carried out in the whole country to find out the present state of usage of wind energy and the proposed usage of the same. The problems hindering the wide spread usage of wind energy have been identified and solutions proposed. Before deriving the conclusions the paper gives an analysis of the state of wind energy technologies found on the basis of how many are working and how many are not,, type of ownership of the windmills, place of installation by regions and finally by type of technology used.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Tanzania with an area of about 880,000 square kilometers and a population of over 30 million people is essentially a tropical country since geographically it lies between latitudes 1o and 12o South and longitudes 29o and 41o East. Climatically, the country has a hot arid central plateau, has temperate highlands in the north and south and has coastal plains to the east facing the Indian Ocean. The backbone of Tanzanias economy is agriculture with coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco and sisal contributing the most to the countrys GDP. Other economic activities include food processing, textile industries, mining minerals (gold, diamond, tanzanite), fishing and livestock farming. Presently with about 90% of the population living in the rural areas, their main source of energy is fuel wood despite the dangers of deforestation leading to environmental degradation. Although household energy usage in the rural areas is mostly fuel wood based, tobacco farming also contributes a lot to the fuel wood consumption and hence aggravating even more to the environmental degradation. Therefore if alternative energy resources were to be exploited, especially for the majority leaving in the rural areas, the environmental degradation would very much be averted. With the provision of abundant energy, the living standards of the rural masses is going to rise which is usually a consequence of having abundant and cheap energy being made available. Presently there are a few Tanzanians who are already harnessing alternative energy resources especially wind and solar energy despite the few bottlenecks surrounding them. The few Tanzanians, already using the alternative energy resource, are a subject of this paper. In sections to follow data on existing and working wind energy conversion systems in Tanzania is going to be presented. An analysis of the installed wind energy conversion systems with the aim of showing what is possible and what technologies are in use is going to be made. Finally conclusions will be made with the aim of deriving recommendations for future action plans to promote and popularize wind energy in Tanzania.

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II.

GENERAL BACKGROUND

It has been established that the total amount of energy used annually in Tanzania is equivalent to about 15 million tons of oil. Wood fuel is the primary source for just over 90% of this energy. Petroleum imports account for 7-8%, and electricity for 1-2%. About 90% of all Wood fuel (including that used to produce charcoal) is consumed by households, mainly for cooking. Most of the remaining 10% is used in agricultural crop processing, and by commercial and social institutions (Ministry of WE&M, 1994). This kind of energy consumption pattern heavily affects the environment in terms of forests which are being cleared every year, while there are other alternative sources of energy like wind, solar which are left untapped. Furthermore, a continued dependency on only fossil fuels and fuel wood as is currently the case, social and economic development won't be sustainable. Also although there is a big potential of renewable energy resources, so far little effort has been done to exploit these resources. In the late 70s and early 80s there was a considerable development of wind energy technology in the country, but has declined extensively in the last decade. With a lack of documentation of the technologies of the existing windmills, and its unreliable operation where they exists, a need is felt to update the inventory of the wind energy technologies in Tanzania. On the other hand, however, despite recent developments in wind energy technology world wide, there is a noticeable low internal capability of developing and popularizing the appropriate wind technologies. This if exploited could complement the efforts of solving the current energy crisis in the country especially in remote areas far from the national grid. Thus there is a need of evaluating the types of technologies which could be suitable for application in Tanzania. Coupled with the advantage of having an existing long coastline (about 800km) facing eastward which has prevailing surface winds which are south-eastern (S.E. Trades) and north-eastern (N.E. Monsoon) (Ekono, 1994), there is a high possibility that the mean wind speeds along the Tanzanian coastline and in the islands could be high enough for economical feasible wind power production. Thus there is a need of carrying out its economic viability. Finally since the introduction of new technologies, at times, comes into conflict with the sociological aspects of the people at the place, it is therefore also important to assess the sociological impact of wind energy technologies at some stage. III. METHODOLOGY ADOPTED

Visits were made to sites with wind energy technology installations and to sites where they have ever used wind energy technology and the centers manufacturing windmills. Another task was to test (through questionnaires) the acceptability of the technology by those who have the windmills or own the windmills. The purpose of the visits was to get site specific data on existing installations, to interview firms and individuals who have been involved in the development of wind energy technologies, and to interview the users on their experience in wind energy technology. The places visited were therefore all those places which are or have used wind energy technology. Such places are found in the regions listed below. (a) Regions with existing wind energy technologies:Dodoma, Arusha, Iringa, Kagera, Mara, Mtwara, Rukwa, Shinyanga, Singida, Tanga, Tabora, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Dar es Salaam and (b) Firms which have manufactured windmills such as Ujuzi Leo Industries Ltd in Arusha. Other institutions involved in installation of wind water pumped schemes include the Water Project of

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the Missionaries of the Precious Blood at Miyuji and Lay Volunteers International Association at Kongwa, all in Dodoma Region. To simplify the logistics of assessing, the above regions were divided into five zones namely: Zone I (Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa), Zone II (Dodoma, Singida and Tabora), Zone III (Shinyanga, Musoma and Kagera), Zone IV (Tanga, Kilimanjaro and Arusha) and Zone V (Lindi and Mtwara).

Musom a

Mwanza Geita Bulyanhulu Buswaqi Singida Tabora Dodom a Morogoro Mtera Iringa Kidatu Kihansie Mbeya Ruhudji Stigler Gorge Dar es Salaam Hale Pangani Tanga Shingyanga Moshi Nyuba ya mungu

Arusha

TANZANIA ELECTRIC SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED

14 October 2006

DCPR
Figure 1. Map of Tanzania with Wind Turbine Sites

IV.

DATA ON WIND ENERGY USAGE

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As mentioned above the sites were divided into zones to simplify the logistics of assessment. The outcome of the assessment was as follows:A Windmills in Zone I (Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa Regions)

In Zone I (Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa Regions) all the reported existence of windmills were found to be in Iringa region only. In Mbeya and Rukwa there were no reports of windmill installations although in some parts of Rukwa there are reports that in the 1980s there were plans of installing a lot of windmills for water pumping.

In Iringa alone there was a total of 16 windmills which were installed, and a good number of them are operating very successfully. Additionally in Iringa Region it was also noticed that there were a number of self initiatives going on aiming at locally producing windmills for electricity generation using very simple materials. (i) Windmills for water pumping in Iringa Region

In Iringa Region with the assistance of the Regional Water Engineer, from the Ministry of Water and Livestock Development, all the windmill installations in Iringa Region were identified. The sites included the following areas: Ipamba Hospital, Tosamaganga village. The centre which is in Iringa rural district accommodates a hospital, a Nursing School and the Centre for the Orphans. Between 1988 and 1998 a wind water pump was installed and operated but due to lack of servicing and maintenance the pump was damaged and to date it has not been serviced. The centre has a 30,000 litres storage tank, which receives water supply by gravity from the Tanangozi water scheme. At Igumbilo Village, Iringa Urban, a windmill installed in 1980 by the Ministry of Water and Livestock Development through the Mianzi miti project was still evident. The system was damaged and it is not currently working. The people from the community now draw water from an open well, which was previously pumped by the windmill. At Igingilanyi village, Iringa Rural district at the farm of Mr. F.M. Abry there is a wind mill which is working very well which pumps water from a bore hole for agricultural activity, livestock watering and for domestic purposes. The wind pump receives regular services and maintenance. At Migoli Village, Iringa rural, a Missionary sisters home at Mtera operates another windmill for water pumping. The windmill pumps water for livestock watering. Although the water is very salty and not suitable for drinking, it is only used for livestock watering. There is a storage tank of 30,000 litres. At the Migoli Parish, another Missionary establishment, there is also a windmill used for water pumping. It was known that the windmill was used for water pumping to supply water for agriculture and domestic purposes. The bore hole pumped by the windmill had a depth of 70 metres and the height of the wind tower was 16meters. The total installed storage tank was 40,000 litres. At the Migoli Health Centre, another Missionary establishment, another windmill was in operation. The windmill was pumping water for the Health Centre which accommodates 50 beds for inpatients and 60-70 out patients. The wind pump also supplied water for gardening activities as well. For storage purposes, the windmill pumps water into a storage tank of 60,000 litres. At the Mtera Dam, there were 6 windmills installed by the Migoli sisters to pump water for the Sisters Home, the Health Centre and the Parish for domestic and irrigation purposes. Unfortunately they were not working due to the fact that the dam overflowed and the windmills are surrounded by water throughout and so they are not easily accessible. Furthermore because the

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area is infested with water wild animals like hippopotamus and crocodiles, it has made access to the installation for service and maintenance into the water difficult and dangerous . In Mfyome Village, Iringa rural, there is another windmill which was installed by a Tobacco Company as an incentive to the villagers for giving the Tobacco Company land for tobacco plantation. The windmill is working very well and supplies water both to the village community of about 1,222 people and to the local Parish Centre for domestic purposes. The windmill pumps water from a well of 30 metres depth to a storage tank of about 60,000 litres. The water project is managed by the village community where water is sold at 10 /= per bucket of water at several dedicated water points. At the Kisolanza Village, Iringa rural, a Tourist Camp Site known as Kisolanza Farm operates a windmill powered water pump. The systems has two pumps, one is a windmill operated pump installed in 1993 for pumping water from a man made dam and one is a hydram operated water pump which operates by water gravity from the water pumped from the dam. At the Mufindi District, the windmills installed at the Sao Hill Ranch to supply water for livestock development could not visited because information from the District Engineer indicated that unfortunately the wind pump was not working due to lack of service and maintenance. Finally there was another windmill at Madabulo Village in Mufindi District wich is operated by a Tourist Centre known as FOX Farm, which is a Tourist Campsite. The windmill pump is working and supplies water to the campsite.

(ii) Windmills for Electricity Generation in Iringa Region At Mafinga Vocational Education Training Centre, at Iramba along the Iringa Mbeya Road and at Makambako initiatives by members of the community aiming at locally producing windmills for electricity generation could be seen. An interview with such people revealed that they knew what they were doing. At Iramba Village, Mufindi District, for example there were efforts of trying to make an innovation and fabrication of a wind generator from locally available materials. With two bicycle rings 12 blades were fixed to produce a wind turbine. By using a normal bicycle dynamo and a diode one was able to produce direct current electricity which could be used to charge a battery or power a light bulb. At Makambako, another innovation similar to the one at Iramba, drove an old dc generator by a 12 bladed wind turbine which was locally made from scrap material mostly from the TAZARA trains. With a stabiliser on the dc side the innovation also included an inverter to produce ac power which was between 200 and 600 Watts and could power a video system, a radio, light bulbs and charge car batteries. B Windmills in Zone II (Dodoma, Singida and Tabora Regions)

In Zone II (Dodoma, Singida and Tabora Regions) A large number of windmills are in Singida Region followed by a some in Dodoma Region. In Tabora 4 windmills were installed but only one is existing and is not working. (i) Windmills in Singida Region

In total there were 36 Southern Cross and Commet windmills where both makes were from Australia. They were installed for water pumping and were all fitted with mono pumps under the Groundwater Development Project in Singida Region (Ministry of Water, 1969). At present only 17 are working.

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The types of windmills installed under the Groundwater Development Project were of four types, the RG 21, RF 17, 12 D12, and 12C 10 which had towers of the following heights:(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) RG 21 with 19.5 (60ft) tower RF 17 with 13m (40ft) tower 12D12 with 13m (40ft) tower 12C 10 with 13m (40ft) tower.

The project which was completed in 1984, was wholly carried out by the Australians who supplied the windmills and left after installing the windmills and the mono pumps. The project had no arrangements and no agreements were made regarding the operation and maintenance of the windmills. Furthermore, there were no formal agreements for the supply of spare parts for the windmills although in their supply they included some spares of those items which were fast moving. In Manyoni District in Singida region, there were other more than 80 windmills installed by the CPPS Mission - Society of the Precious Blood. These windmills were manufactured in Italy and they were of the Tozzi Bardi make. Since there was no coordination between the CPPS Mission (Society of the Precious Blood) and the Singida REW's Offices. Hence there are no records regarding the windmills installed in Manyoni at the RWE'S Office in Singida. (ii) Windmills in Dodoma Region

In Dodoma region, a total of 19 windmills were recorded at the RWE's Office. All the windmills were installed by the Lay Volunteers International Association (LVIA) of Italy. According to this association, the cost of a windmill device ranged between 8 and 9 million Tshs. The LVIA started the water projects in Dodoma Region in 1984. The thrusts that led them to install Windmills in the villages for water supply were:(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) The small size of the villages taking into consideration the pumping capacity limitation of windmills. Low O & M costs, although the initial cost investment for windmills is high. High O & M cost for diesel driven pumps including inadequate fuel supplies and spare parts. Appropriate technology for small rural water supply schemes.

Most of the installed windmills by the LVIA were imported from Italy and were of the Tozzi Bardi make although some makes from Kenya for example the Kijito have also been installed. The CPPS Mission - Society of the Precious Blood also had some water projects in Dodoma where about 6 windmills were installed at different villages. The windmills again were of the Tozzi Bardi make form Italy. In Dodoma region where the windmills were installed by LVIA (19 nos) and a small number (6 nos) by CPPS Mission, apart from installing water pumping units, the organizations also constructed storage tanks and that all the windmills were installed in villages. Dodoma like Singida, has good wind speeds but seasonal.

(iii)

Windmills in Tabora Region

In Tabora region, only four (4) windmills were recorded to have been installed. The windmills were mostly installed by Mission centres. One windmill was installed in Tabora Urban under the supervision of the RWE of Tabora. The installation cost was estimated at 2.2 million Tshs. However, the Borehole was not very successful and the windmill has been dismantled and returned to the RWE's office for safe keeping. The windmill was a Southern Cross by make and was purchased from Singida Region.

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All windmills in Tabora are owned and are mostly installed in Roman Catholic mission centres and their locations and types were as follows:(i) One Southern Cross windmill type RG21 was installed at a private farm in Tabora Urban, Cheyo B. area belonging to a Mr. Masanja. The water bore hole is 20m deep and was drilled in a farm but it was not successful because the yield was too low. Hence the installed windmill could not pump any water. It was later dismantled and returned to the RWE'S office. Till today the bore hole structure is still in place. Another windmill was installed at Lipuli village Tabora Urban for pumping water from a dug well, 6m deep for the Amani disabled camp. The windmill has been removed and transferred to Sikonge, RC Mission and the camp is supplied with water from a hand pump. The wind mill was purchased from the CPPS Mission in Dodoma. Another windmill structure remains standing at Igange School for the deaf in Igange village, Tabora Rural. The pump and distribution line have been removed. The distribution system was vandalized and the pump and rising main has since then been kept in the office of the school. The windmill was obtained from the CPPS Mission and installed at a cost of Tshs. 60,000/= in 1984. The windmill is Italian made and is a Tozzi Bardi make. The fourth windmill is in Sikonge RC Mission and is working. However, due to the bad road conditions visiting it was difficult. Windmills in Zone III (Musoma, Shinyanga and Kagera Regions)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

In Zone III (Musoma, Shinyanga and Kagera Regions) A roughly equal number of distribution of windmills was found in Musoma and Shinyanga while in Kagera there were no reports of existence of any. In Shinyanga for instance there was a total of 6 windmills which were reported to have been installed while in Musoma there was a total of 8 windmills which have been reported to have been installed.

(i)

Windmills in Musoma Region

In Musoma the eight (8) windmills were installed in Makoko village (Musoma urban), Buguwema village (Musoma Rural) and Inguti village (Musoma Rural). Three (3) windmills were installed by the Ministry of Agriculture and RC Mission to draw water from Lake Victoria for irrigation purposes along the lakeshore. The agricultural activities along the lakeshore was stopped and windmills were abandoned altogether. The windmills have since been subjected to vandalism and the intake and distribution pipes are missing. Other five (5) windmills were installed by the Ministry of Agriculture for irrigating a 40 hectares farm in Musoma but the ministry stopped the agricultural activity and windmills abandoned and have also been subjected to vandalism. A simple locally manufactured windmill was located at Mnahara village (Musoma rural) managed by Mr. Bosco Kalega. This windmill was supplied by a Jua Kali Company Ltd. to Mr. Bosco for drawing water from Lake Victoria to irrigate an acre of tomato field. The windmill was supplied by Jua Kali Company under a contract that Mr. Bosco should pay 40% of the agricultural proceeds to the company.

(ii)

Windmills in Shinyanga Region

Shinyanga Rural has six (6) windmills installed in Bulekela, Hendawashi, Ndoleleji, Mwamagembe, Shagihile and Mngurata villages. The windmills at Bulekela and Hendawashi villages are not working while the rest are working supplying water to a school, a community, a dispensary and an RC mission. Ndoleleji village has two windmills of Southern Cross make and an American make consisting of 24 blades, 7m rotor diameters and 13m tower height. The two wind pumps combined draw water from a river 150m away and pumps it to 4 storage tanks placed 500m away. These pumps supply water to a

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school, a dispensary, parish and village communities. The village community buys water at a cost of Tshs. 20/= per bucket. D Windmills in Zone IV (Arusha, Tanga and Kilimanjaro Regions)

In Zone IV (Arusha, Tanga and Kilimanjaro Regions) A roughly equal number of distribution of windmills was also found in Arusha and Tanga while in Kilimanjaro there were no reports of existence of any windmill apart from the one which was installed in Makokoro village in Mwanga District by Ujuzi Leo Industries in 1982 and only operated for three months before damaged by strong winds. In Tanga for instance there was a total of 6 windmills which were reported to have been installed while in Arusha there was a total of 4 windmills which have been reported to have been installed.

(i)

Windmills in Arusha Region

In Arusha, there are four (4) windmills which were installed in 1982/93 by USAID support. These were installed in Longido, Sinyawani, Mudarata villages in Monduli villages and in Naberera village Simanjiro district. These were installed to supply water for drinking and livestock in the Maasai area. Since the Masai people shift from place to place in search of good pastures for their animals and as a result they abandoned the wind pumps. The pumps in turn were damaged and vandalized. In other rural areas people depend on water supplied by gravity from springs in highlands. In some other rural areas people are supplied with bore holes pumped by hand pumps and diesel pumps where the village communities contribute 25% on the cost of the system as well as labour for construction of the bore hole. The village communities commit themselves to take care of the water system. In Monduli village, one Mr. Benedict John Mwacha installed a simple wind generator in 1987 for powering a radio in his home. The structure of the system includes a propeller, 2 bearings for balancing collected from used vehicles; aluminum sheets for making 8 blades, a dynamo of 12 volts, diode, capacitor, converter, condenser from radio scraps, all materials have been obtained from scrapes. The system can charge 4 lead acid batteries. The system was improved in 1994 to withstand strong winds. Potential areas for wind electricity generator installations include the strip from Arusha to Namanga (Tanzania/Kenya border) both sides of the road and the Bomang'ombe Kilimanjaro International Airport strip. These are low lying grassland areas.

Working 44% Not Working 56%

Figure 2. Installed Windmills in Tanzania

(ii)

Windmills in Tanga Region

In Tanga, there are six (6) windmills installed in Mia village (Muheza district), Kigombe village (Muheza District) Mkomazi village (Korogwe district), Neema village (Tanga) and Makarawe village (Pangani district).

The windmills installed in Mia village, Kigombe village, Neema village are not working because the pump rods and pump cylinders have been damaged. In Mkomazi and Makayo villages both windmills are working to supply water to the village of 3500 people. The windmill pumps water from shallow

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wells to a resevoir tank situated on a hilly area 1 km from which water is supplied to the village by gravity 5 km away. The system supplies water to a dispensary, a school and to the village community. The people contribute Tshs.300/=/month per household for operation and maintenance costs.

Windmills in Zone V (Lindi and Mtwara Regions)

In Zone V (Lindi and Mtwara) there were no reports of windmill installations although in one Missionary establishment, Kilangala Parish in Lindi Rural District, there was one windmill which was in the process of being installed but somehow it was abandoned because the technician who was responsible got transferred in between. The windmill was meant for producing electricity to supplement what was being produced from a photovoltaic system which was in operation. V. ANALYSIS OF DATA ON WIND ENERGY USAGE IN TANZANIA

The data giving the state of the wind energy technologies by regions, number of installed technologies, type of use, ownership and an estimate of the cost of each installation are summarized in the following table.

(i)

Breakdown of the Windmills in terms of those working and those not working

From the 13 regions surveyed, there are a total of 106 wind mills installed, of which 47 are working and 59 windmills are not working, giving 44% of the installed windmills as working and 56% of the installed windmills as not working, see Figure 2 for a graphical view of the distribution.

(ii)

Breakdown of the Windmills in terms of ownership

Again from the 13 regions, 80 of the installed windmills are owned by the Communities, 10 are owned by the church organizations, 9 are owned by the government and 7 are owned by other organizations. The above gives 76% of the windmills as being owned by the communities, 9% owned by church organizations, 8% windmills by the government and 7% windmills by other organizations, see Figure 3 for a graphical view of the distribution. .

(iii)

Breakdown of Windmills in terms of use

All the windmills were installed to supply water for domestic, agricultural and livestock development activities.

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Government 8% Church Organizations 9%

Private 7%

Communities 76%

Figure 3. Ownership of Installed Windmills in Tanzania

(iv) Breakdown of Windmills by Regions

As can be seen in the summary and in the graph in Figure 4 giving the number of installed windmills in Tanzania by regions, it will be noted that most windmills are located in the regions of Singida, Dodoma and Iringa. The reason for their high concentration in these regions is not by sheer coincidence but rather because of water problems in these areas, wind energy was found to be an appropriate technology which could be very easily adopted, adapted and used. However for the regions where windmills have not yet penetrated, discussions with officials in these areas revealed that though they would have liked very much to make use of the technology, finance has been one of the major limiting factor. Regions which would have liked to use the technology specifically for water pumping, are regions like Rukwa, Lindi and Mtwara. For these they have even gone to the extent of identifying areas where wind energy could be used for water pumping should funds be available and they have also included in their water master plans the use of wind energy.

(v)

Number and reasons of the non-working windmills

Although the overall population of the windmills is large the number of non-working windmills is too high. In the table and graph it is seen that 56% of the installed windmills as not working! Going region by region, the main reason for their not working was found to be (a) mainly due to lack of spare parts, (b) partly due to vandalism, (c) partly due to abandonment, (d) water over-flooding and (e) to a very small extent due to non availability of wind. In Singida and Dodoma where the population of windmills is the highest, a majority of the windmills that are not working were as a result of vandalism which took place in the early days of their installation.

In Musoma like in Singida and Dodoma, the non-working windmills have been as a result of abandonment after vandalism playing its nasty role.

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Wind Energy Utilization in Tanzania

N o . o f w in d T e c h n o lo g ie s I n s ta lle d W o r k in g

35

N o t w o r k in g
30

Number of Windmills

25

20

15

10

0
ro a a a a a a a ga om om ng sh ar ga ya di or id ja in an be in ng ya ru ab od us an tw L Ir uk R w a

Si

in

Sh

i li

R e g io n

In Iringa the problem has been partly due to lack of spare parts and partly due to the dam overflowing and thus submerging the towers of the windmills preventing service and maintenance from being carried out. In Arusha the cause of the existence of non-working windmills was very unique. The windmills installed in Arusha were meant to pump water for the Maasai for domestic and livestock use. However because the Maasai always move in search of livestock feed, the installed windmills were consequently abandoned and left at the mercy of vandals who of course vandalized them. The cases where windmills were dismantled because of poor performance were in Tabora and in Kilimanjaro (in Makokoro Village) in Mwanga District. In Tabora there were problems with the bore hole. Because the performance was poor the windmill was dismantled and sent back to the Regional Water Engineer. In addition to the case for Makokoro Village in Mwanga District, the windmill was removed after being damaged by strong winds after working for only three months. No efforts were made to get it back to work because in place of it an electric powered water pump was installed instead and thus removing the need for the windmill. The remaining wind mills which are not working, a majority of them were due to lack of spare parts.

(vi)

Wind Energy Technologies used in Tanzania

The windmills found in use in all the places visited except at Kilangala Parish in Lindi and at Mafinga Vocational Traing Centre were of the multi-bladed horizontal axis windmills. At Kilangala parish the un-commissioned windmill was a three bladed horizontal axis type while the prototypes which were being made at Mafinga were of the vertical axis Savonious rotor type.

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This finding is not surprising because for water pumping the proven technology the world over is the multi-bladed horizontal axis windmill technology.

(vii)

Wind Energy Technologies used in Tanzania in terms of power rating

In the range determined by the power rating of wind turbines, in Tanzania the wind mills found in use are in the lowest power range, that of the small power machines.

VI. A

OBSERVATIONS Community involvement on Wind Energy Projects

As mentioned above 80% of windmills for water pumping are owned by the local communities. The communities have formed village water committees and the village pay for the services of management and maintenance and security to ensure a sustainable operation of the project. At the moment the communities participate throughout the project cycle. Initiation, planning, construction, operation and maintenance of the project after commissioning. In the case of donor supported projects the communities contribute up to 10% of the total cost of the project. B Problems Experienced from the Existing Wind mills

Failures of many windmills in the regions visited especially in the villages are attributed to poor servicing and maintenance. Generally, with proper servicing and maintenance, the windmills are quite durable and reliable. The main reasons for poor servicing and maintenance are due to lack of spare parts; lack of well organized and funded repair and maintenance system, and a lack of security, leading to vandalism of the parts of the windmill system. The research also showed that the major technical problems facing the existing windmills included the wearing out of the piston leather caps due to salty water and sand and the breaking of the pump rods and rising main. The pumping rods though can be manufactured locally, the imported piston leather caps are more reliable and durable. In some cases, attempts have been made to manufacture the piston leather caps locally, but they are not durable.

Existing Capacity for Development, Operation and Maintenance of Wind Energy Systems in Tanzania

Capacity has been built at different levels by the government and private organisations.

Capacity built by the Government on Windmill Schemes

From 1977 to 1984 the government of Tanzania received a grant from the Australian Government to support water development schemes mainly in Singida region. The grant was used for drilling water boreholes and installation of windmills for water pumping imported from Australia. 36 villages benefited from the grant, and the department of water was strengthened through training of technicians in wind energy pumps installation, servicing and repairing. A warehouse was also established at the department of water in Singida for storage of windmill assembly parts. Therefore the capacity has been built at the department of water in Singida.

Capacity Built by the Private Organizations There are Roman Catholic Volunteers known as Lay Volunteers International Association (L.V. I.A) based at Kongwa, who have been installing windmill pumps at Kongwa, Kondoa and

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Mpwapwa districts in Dodoma region. They have established a workshop at Kongwa for maintaining, servicing and repair of installed windmill pumps. There is a Roman Catholic Volunteers of the Society of the Precious Blood (CPPS) based at Miyuji village, Dodoma, who have a capacity for borehole drilling and wind mill pumps installations. Their activities are based at Manyoni and are managed by local technicians who are capable of installing, servicing and repair of windmills. They train local technicians and do research to fabricate parts of the windmills in Tanzania. Based on the above, it can correctly be stated that the capacity and capability for the development of windmill pumps exists in Tanzania.

Wind Electricity Generation Technology in Tanzania A few attempts have been made to install wind turbines for electricity generation in Tanzania which mainly has been for charging batteries. The first two systems were installed in Sikonge Moravian Mission and the Kili wind project at Bukene, both in Tabora region. The other projects were installed at St. Gasper Hospital of Itigi in Manyoni district and at the Kilangala Parish (Village) Lindi, rural district. Due to the instability of wind regime the wind projects failed. In Karatu Arusha at Mang`ola, a Spanish NGO has installed a wind turbine of 400W for electricity generation for battery charging, power lighting and powering of computers. At the Mang`ola Roman Catholic Church a wind turbine of 1500W has been installed for charging a battery, lighting and for communication purposes. In addition to above, there are also some innovative efforts observed during the study from individuals making small wind driven electricity generators from scrape materials as mentioned in earlier sections.

The Influence of Wind Regime on the Expectation of the Wind Energy Technologies For efficient functioning of a windmill for water pumping the required minimum wind speeds is 2.5 metres per second. A windmill for water pumping can therefore be installed at sites without demand for the measurement of accurate site-specific data. But for the proper functioning of wind generators, it requires a minimum wind speed of about 5 meters per second. This means that a site-specific data must be established before installing wind generators for electricity generation. According to the Climatological Statistics for East Africa, Part III, Tanzania given by the East Africa Meteorological Department September 1975, the wind region for Tanzania for 17 regions, the annual average wind speeds vary from 2.1 m/s in Morogoro to 6.3 m/s in Tanga regions. From the data which show that the mean wind speed are Tanga, (6.3 m/s), Mtwara (5.7m/s), Dar es Salaam (5.4 m/s), Mbeya (5.4 m/s), Mwanza (4.9 m/s ) Lindi (4.6 m/s), Ruvuma (4.5 m/s) Mara (4.3 m/s) windmills for electricity generation could be installed

VII.

CONCLUSIONS The wind energy technologies recorded in the study are found to be those used mainly for water pumping. The study has shown that wind technology particularly for water pumping has a very good potential in this country since it has proved to be reliable and environmentally friendly. There was not any full fledged working wind energy technology for electricity generation apart from the small innovative efforts by individuals using a bicycle ring as a wind rotor. Wind energy technology for electricity generation demands higher wind speeds starting from 5 m/s, while for water pumping technology requires minimum wind speeds of 2 m/s. But for low energy power appliances it is possible to get a wind generator operating at 3 m/s for electricity generation. The study has also revealed that the capacity and capability for assembling exist, by the Department of Water in Singida, Lay Volunteers International Association (LVIA), based at

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A.H. Nzali

Wind Energy Utilization in Tanzania

Kongwa, and Catholic Volunteers of the Society of the Precious Blood (CPPS) at Miyuji Village, Dodoma. There also exists innovative efforts from a few individuals to develop wind driven electricity generators from locally available materials. The study has further revealed that, because of the advances in wind energy technology, the costs of the wind energy equipment has fallen by 50% because of stiff competition of different manufacturers.

VIII.

RECOMMENDATIONS There is a need to coordinate and strengthen the existing capacities for windmills development at the Department of Water Singida, Lay Volunteers International Association, Kongwa and Catholic Volunteers of the Precious Blood, Miyuji Dodoma. There is a need to follow up the innovative efforts recorded on the manufacture of wind generators using locally available materials at Mafinga in Mufindi district and at Makambako in Njombe district. There is a need for COSTECH and the Prospective College of Engineering and Technology to follow up and support implementation proposal for Building Local Capacity for the Manufacture and Maintenance of wind energy system in collaboration with the private sector. There is a need to monitor the current efforts made by DANIDA to build the capacity for wind resource measurements in selected sites in Tanzania to guide the government to develop a wind farm for electricity generation.

IX

REFERENCES

Ekono Energy Limited; "Tanzania: Wind Power Potential Assessment and Feasibility Study." 1994 Ministry of Water, 1968; "Recommendations for Dodoma Water Supply System", United Research, 1968. Ministry of Water, 1969; "Recommendations for Singida Water Supply System", United Research, 1969. Ministry of Water, Energy and Minerals, 1994 Nzali, A.H.; Materu, P.N.; Luteganya, P.R.; Saelie, G.A.; Mushi, S.J.; State of Wind Energy Tehchnologies in Tanzania A Phase I Report to COSTECH, 1997 United Republic of Tanzania, Ministry of Water, Rural Water Policy (Draft), February 1999.

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