General Questions

Q1. What is TaTEDO?

A1. TaTEDO is a short form of Tanzania Traditional Energy Development and Environment organization.  It is a national NGO dealing with sustainable modern energy services. The organisation was founded in 1990 as a national non-governmental, non-profit sharing organisation for spearheading the development of sustainable modern energy technologies and services in Tanzania. 

Q2.How does TaTEDO work with grassroots' stakeholders?

A2.TaTEDO has its own field implementation approach. The approach steps include networking and partnership with local associates, baseline survey, participatory rural appraisal, awareness and demonstration, capacity building, business and market development and participatory monitoring and evaluation.    The PRA enables TaTEDO to collect information on problems and needs at local levels and plan together with target groups. Awareness and demonstration are conducted for improved and new energy technologies and services which is followed by capacity building through training and provision of working facilities to the target groups.  In order to create sustainability for development activities, TaTEDO forms energy teams and develop business and market for its products and services through entrepreneurship development.    

 Planning with grassroots stakeholders

Technical Questions

Biomass Energy

Q3.  What is the impact of using improved woodfuel stoves?

A3. The thermal efficiency of improved woodfuel stoves ranges from 25 to 45 percent (compared to traditional stoves).  The impact realized by these stoves includes saving firewood and charcoal consumption as a result reducing frequencies of collecting and purchasing firewood and charcoal, reducing smoke emissions in the kitchens of households and institutions.    This leads into money saving in the households, SMEs and institutions and reducing deforestation.

Q4.  What are the prices of improved woodfuel technologies?

A4  There are different prototypes of improved woodfuel technologies ranging from firewood stoves and ovens, charcoal stoves and ovens, saw dust stoves, etc.  The costs of these stoves vary with forms (prototypes), sizes and places depending on availability and quantity of raw materials for manufacturing or constructing stoves.  The current prices of improved woodfuel stoves range from Tshs 5,000 to Tshs 56,000 while ovens range from Tshs 140, 000 to Tshs 1,600,000.

Solar Energy

Q5.  How does Solar PV work?

A5. Photovoltaic (PV) is the term used to describe semi-conducting materials that generate electricity when  exposed to daylight. When sunlight shines on to a solar PV cell, the cell material absorbs some of the light particles. When the photon is absorbed, an electron is freed from the solar material (silicon). The release of electrons creates a flow of electricity between the two layers. Metal contacts in the panel take this electricity away as a direct current (DC).

Q6. Can individual replace hydro electricity by solar electricity?

A6. Technically, yes but is very expensive in terms of investment costs (economic part of it).    The experience with PV dissemination show that the actual livelihood improvement potential on the economic level of power generated by PV is somewhat limited. PV based power alone cannot meet substantial energy need for productive use (e.g. irrigation pumps, flour mills, agro-processing, small machinery, etc) at reasonable cost. The development of willingness to pay and of the market on a sustainable basis can only occur if the affordability becomes better for lower income households.

Rural Energy

Q7.  What is Multi-Functional Platform (MFP)?

Q8. What is small hydro-electric power plant?

Q8. Small Hydro-Electric Power Plant is a type of generating system that converts the mechanical energy of running water into electric energy much the same as any larger traditional hydroelectric system. Most of these plants serve a small community. The definition of a small hydro project varies but a generating capacity of up to 10 MW is generally accepted as the upper limit of what can be termed small hydro. This may be stretched to 25 MW and 30 MW in other countries. Small hydro can be further subdivided into mini hydro, usually defined as less than 1,000 kW, and micro hydro which is less than 100 kW. Micro hydro is usually the application of hydroelectric power sized for small communities, single families or small enterprise.

Wind Energy

Q9. What is wind energy?

A9 Wind power is a renewable energy source used to generate electricity by converting wind energy into useful mechanical energy. This mechanical energy is then converted into electricity by the use of an electric turbine located within each individual wind machine.
 

Environment

Q10.  How does Improved Basic Earthmound Kiln (IBEK) save trees?

A10. The IBEK reduces frequencies of charcoal burning. The charcoal recoveries between different improved earthmound kilns range from 15 to 31 percent. Given the same amount of woodlot, if a charcoal producers produce charcoal through IBEK, they will get more bags of charcoal  compared to bags obtained from traditional kiln.  However, this method is disseminated to the charcoal producers in the form of sustainable forest management package containing tree planting, use of woodfuel saving stoves and use of improved charcoal production methods (IBEK). The combination of three methods will emanate into saving trees and therefore sustainable forest management.  

 Demonstrating improved woodfuel stoves

Improved woodfuel stove (institutional prototype)

Solar PV system

Multi-functional Plant

Micro hydro turbine

Wind turbine

Improved Earthmound Kiln

Tanzania Traditional Energy Development and Environment Organization

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