• Tanzania has connected a 50-megawatt solar plant in Kishapu to the national grid.
• The project marks the first phase of a planned 150-megawatt solar complex.
• The move supports a broader plan to more than triple national power capacity by 2044.

Tanzania has connected its first large-scale solar power plant to the national grid, marking a milestone in the country’s effort to diversify its energy mix.

The 50-megawatt photovoltaic plant, located in Kishapu in the Shinyanga region, has officially entered service, according to Green Building Africa. It represents the first phase of a planned 150-megawatt solar complex developed in part by the state utility, Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO).

The initial phase was financed with 118.6 billion Tanzanian shillings — about $46 million — through support from the French Development Agency (AFD), which provided a sovereign loan to the Tanzanian government.

Launched in 2024, the project is Tanzania’s first utility-scale solar plant connected to the grid. It comes as TANESCO implements a national program to expand electricity generation capacity.

Under the Energy Ministry’s Power System Master Plan 2020–2044, Tanzania aims to raise installed capacity to more than 10,000 megawatts by adding new hydropower, gas, coal and renewable plants. In 2024, total installed capacity stood at about 3,091.7 megawatts.

The second phase of the Kishapu project calls for an additional 100 megawatts, according to Renewables Now. TANESCO is currently finalizing the contractor selection process launched in April 2025 for the expansion. The estimated cost of the second phase is about 200.4 billion Tanzanian shillings, or roughly $77 million.

The project signals Tanzania’s effort to reduce reliance on traditional generation sources while meeting rising electricity demand across the country.

Abdel-Latif Boureima