Share of charcoal, wood use set to drop: report
What you need to know:
- Currently, wood and charcoal are the main sources of energy for households, both in urban and rural areas, accounting for 85 per cent of total energy consumption.
Dar es Salaam. The government expects that the share of charcoal and wood in energy consumption will drop significantly during the next two decades as Tanzanians are increasingly adopting the use of liquefied natural gas (LPG), a new report has revealed.
Currently, wood and charcoal are the main sources of energy for households, both in urban and rural areas, accounting for 85 per cent of total energy consumption.
But, according to the National Environment Statistics Report 2017, there has been a growth in the use of LPG as a source of heating and cooking energy, predicting that coming 2040, usage of natural gas for domestic purposes will drop to only 49 per cent.
The report, which was published by National Bureau Statistics (NBS), indicated that yearly volume of imported LPG increased to 90,296 metric tonnes in 2016, from 24,470 metric tonnes in 2011. “Wood and charcoal are the main sources of energy for households in rural areas and account for 85 per cent of total final energy consumption,” read part of the report.
Without appropriate interventions, current projections show that demand for charcoal will double by 2030 from approximately 2.3 million tonnes of charcoal per year in 2012.
The intention of the government is to replace wood and charcoal consumption with more supply of electric power, gas and petroleum products. This is very important since heavy dependence on biomass contributes to deforestation.
Production of energy is the capture, extraction or manufacture of fuels or other energy products in forms which were ready for general consumption.
Commenting on the report, KopaGas Company director Andron Mendez said more people living in urban centres are now shifting to gas from charcoal.
“Currently, the availability of charcoal is a big challenge due to huge tax on transportation, so by 2040, it is very true the use of LGP will be widespread,” he said.
He said this will particularly be true with introduction of a technology that allows customers to use gas and pay as per their uses.
Mr Mendez added that Kenya has endorsed a law to ban use of charcoal, hence pushing up LPG use.
