Prime Wednesday, March 19, 2025 Tanzania’s energy landscape is a labyrinth of contradictions. On one side, the government champions an “energy transition” fuelled by imported LPG gas—a costly scheme redirecting rural women’s meagre earnings to Middle Eastern gas giants. On the other, hydropower remains the darling of politicians despite decades of drought-induced blackouts. Only God knows why we keep overlooking coal, a homegrown resource as black as African soil. The LPG delusion The government’s fixation with imported LPG gas is a case study in political delusion. Consider a rural mother in Tabora: she gathers free firewood but is now told to buy LPG at Sh3,600 per kilogramme—a price more than double that of Tanzania’s own LNG. This doesn’t sit well with me: I think there is something very wrong with
Tag Archives: EnergyTransition
Mar
With the US retreating from climate finance and fossil fuels getting cheaper, Asia faces a choice: chase short-term gains or find new partners to keep its clean-energy future on track. Washington’s withdrawal last week from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a global initiative to help developing nations shift from coal to renewables, has cast a long shadow over energy-hungry Asia, which faces intensifying climate threats and a fast-evolving geopolitical landscape. The price of Brent crude oil recently plunged to a five-month low before inching up as the world’s most influential oil cartel, Opec, increased output from April in response to pressure from US President Donald Trump to bring down prices. A possible early resolution to the Ukraine-Russia war could open the tap to cheap oil from Russia that had
Feb
UK-based solar tech startup GRYD has secured $1.2 million (£1 million) in pre-seed funding to build the nation’s first solar subscription platform. Black Seed VC, an early-stage venture firm dedicated to Black business founders in the UK, and SFC Capital, an investor in disruptive UK companies, participated in the round. Other notable investors include Oasthouse Ventures, whose Director, Simon Turner, has financed and scaled renewable infrastructure businesses globally. The solar tech startup will use the investment to fund its national expansion. GRYD’s Affordable Solution For Residences Mohamed Gaafar, Scott Whiteside, and Tom Jordan founded GRYD in 2023 after meeting at the Antler accelerator program in London. They envisioned creating a subscription-based solar power service, allowing homeowners to access solar power without upfront costs. The solar tech startup has developed a