Community Participation in the Renewable Energy Sector in Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Community participation (CP) is emphasized in the planning and implementation of various projects and sectors. The Renewable energy (RE) sector just like other sector requires community participation for its effectiveness and efficiency. This review aims at exploring the community participation in the renewable sector in Tanzania. A seven-step model was used to review various kinds of literature and five identified themes were analyzed: (i) access to information on RE resources; (ii) Community awareness of RE technologies and related regulatory and institutional framework; (iii) Employment opportunities in RE sector; and (iv) Contribution of RE in quality of life improvements. The study revealed that despite different efforts taken by the government and other energy stakeholders, the community still lacks awareness about RE technologies, institutional and regulatory framework. However, the RE sector plays an important role in providing employment opportunities to the local communities and in alleviating poverty. For instance, hydropower has increased electricity supply, solar energy has improved the local households’ standard of living, education and health services. It is recommended that the government and other energy stakeholders cooperate in providing more information and awareness of RE technologies to the community. This should be accompanied by the introduction of a national policy and law which is specifically for renewable energy to enable its development.