Renewable Energy Potential Assessment for Improving Electric Power Availability in Urban Area: A Case of Msigani Ward in Ubungo Municipal, Tanzania

Abstract

The demand for electricity in urban areas of the developing countries like Tanzania is increasing rapidly due to factors such as increasing population, expansion of economic activities and industrialization. Msigani ward is one of the fourteen (14) administrative urban wards in Ubungo Municipal, Dar es Salaam, located at latitude 6.8031 o S and longitude 39.1188 o E. Recently, there has been observed increase in power demand in this ward. This in turn has caused a supply deficit that sometimes led to large number of interruptions caused by frequent power outage and load shedding. The total capacity of the national grid is limited by long-standing drought. Therefore, the study whose results have been presented in this paper, focused on the assessment of renewable energy resources potential comprising solar and wind that can be used in improving electric power availability in urban areas particularly in Msigani ward. Wind speed data and solar insolation level for a long term of the past twelve years (2010-2021) acquired from NASA Power Data Access Viewer were used in this study. The study considered the worst-case scenarios for monthly solar insolation and wind speeds in order to have sustainable energy system at the time of little wind or solar. Homer Pro software was used for simulation and optimization of renewable energy resources. The study revealed that there is enough potential of wind and solar which can generate electricity for Msigani ward and supplement to the national grid. The cost simulation shows that the system can provide a cost of energy (COE) of $0.0399 per kWh TZS 93.3 per kWh which is lower in comparison to the residential grid tariff of TZS 350/kWh for residential consumers using above 75 kWh per month.