Resource nationalism and energy transitions in lower-income countries: the case of Tanzania

ABSTRACT

As the world approaches the 2030 year marker for the implementation of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as defined by the United Nations, the global urgency for sustainable and energy sources grows. Lower-income countries, however, confront a choice between cleaner energy and ensuring cheap and reliable energy. This raises the question of how some countries can find a balance between meeting their global climate change commitments and meeting urgent energy generation needs. This article uses resource nationalism as a lens to examine Tanzania’s energy transition dynamics. It seeks to understand why renewable sources such as wind and solar have been promoted in government policy but have not attracted much developmental support and investment. The authors argue that resource nationalism provides context within which to understand why the state has been quick to promote energy projects (notably geothermal, coal, natural gas and hydroelectric) where it has direct investment interests, as opposed to large wind and solar projects where private – often foreign – investors are dominant.

RÉSUMÉ

À l’approche de l’échéance de 2030 pour la mise en œuvre des 17 objectifs de développement durable (ODD) définis par les Nations unies, il devient de plus en plus urgent de trouver des sources d’énergie durables. Les pays à faible revenu sont toutefois confrontés à un choix entre une énergie plus propre et la garantie d’une énergie bon marché et fiable. Cela soulève la question de savoir comment certains pays oscillent entre leurs engagements mondiaux en matière de changement climatique et la satisfaction des besoins urgents en matière de production d’énergie. Cet article utilise le nationalisme des ressources comme grille d’analyse pour examiner la dynamique de la transition énergétique en Tanzanie. Elle cherche à comprendre pourquoi les sources renouvelables telles que l’énergie éolienne et solaire ont été promues dans la politique gouvernementale mais n’ont pas attiré beaucoup d’investissements ou de soutien au développement. Nous soutenons que le nationalisme des ressources fournit un contexte permettant de comprendre pourquoi l’État s’est empressé de promouvoir des projets énergétiques (notamment la géothermie, le charbon, le gaz naturel et l’hydroélectricité) dans lesquels il a des intérêts d’investissement directs, par opposition aux grands projets éoliens et solaires dans lesquels les investisseurs privés - souvent étrangers - sont dominants.

RESUMO

À medida que o mundo se aproxima do marco de 2030 para a implementação dos 17 Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS), conforme definido pelas Nações Unidas, a urgência global por fontes sustentáveis e de energia cresce. No entanto, os países de rendimentos mais baixos confrontam-se com a escolha entre uma energia mais limpa e a garantia de energia barata e fiável. Isto levanta a questão de como alguns países se equilibram entre os compromissos globais em matéria de alterações climáticas e a satisfação das necessidades urgentes de produção de energia. Este artigo usa o nacionalismo de recursos como lente para analisar a dinâmica da transição energética da Tanzânia. Procura compreender por que razão as fontes renováveis, como a eólica e a solar, têm sido promovidas nas políticas governamentais, mas não têm atraído muito apoio e investimento para o desenvolvimento. Argumentamos que o nacionalismo de recursos fornece o contexto para entender por que o Estado tem sido rápido em promover projetos de energia (notadamente geotérmica, carvão, gás natural e hidrelétrica) onde tem interesses de investimento direto, em oposição a grandes projetos eólicos e solares onde os investidores privados – muitas vezes estrangeiros – são dominantes.

KEYWORDS:

• Resource nationalism
• energy transition
• renewable energy
• energy security
• Tanzania

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Nationalisme des ressources
• transition énergetique
• énergie renouvelable
• sécurité énergetique
• Tanzanie

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:

• Nacionalismo de recursos
• transição energética
• energias renováveis
• segurança energética
• Tanzânia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark via the Energy Struggles: Renewable Energy in Africa research project (project no. DFC File No 20-09-DIIS), which is administered by the Danida Fellowship Centre, for generously funding the research upon which this article draws. The research results are independent, and the views and opinions expressed reflect the views of the authors alone.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 With capacity of up to 10 megawatts, mini-grids are sets of small-scale electricity generators interconnected to a distribution network that supplies electricity to a small, localised group of customers and that operates independently from the national transmission grid (Burrell 2021).

2 See Appeal Case No. 24 of 2019-20 between Emerging Markets Power (Tanzania) Limited and Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited, available at http://www.ppaa.go.tz/appealweb/Appeal.No.24.2019-2020.pdf.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Japhace Poncian

Japhace Poncian is a senior lecturer and is Head of the Department of History, Political Science and Development Studies at Mkwawa University College of Education in Tanzania. He teaches and researches on development politics and the political economy of energy and extractive resources governance.

Rasmus Hundsbaek Pedersen

Rasmus Hundsbaek Pedersen is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). He researches on energy and natural resource investments in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on politics and governance. He currently researches the political economy of energy transitions that involves work on renewable energy, as well as on the enduring role of oil and gas.