Tanzania increases coal production amidst clean energy transition

Tanzania is planning to increase its production of coal by more than three million tonnes annually as it rumps up its drive towards clean energy. The country made its plans public at the start of the year through the Tanzania Mining Commission (TMC) which announced that the country has already increased it coal output from 1.5 million tonnes in the 2020/21 period to 1.56 million tonnes by the second half of this financial year 2022/23. TMC Executive Secretary, Engineer Yahya Samamba, said Tanzania earned 211 million US dollars from the 2020/21 production of 1.5 million tones. He also made it clear that majority of this output was for export with more than 800,000 tonnes for the export market and a little over 60,000 tonnes consumed locally. Also Read: Equity: Fossil fuel funding dries up as IFC buys bank’s stake Notably, Tanzania’s coal is exported largely to India, Poland and the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Tanzania is also actively inviting investment into coal mining as the executive was quoted by local media; "…the government through the Mining Commission has continued to create an enabling environment for coal investors including the improvement of infrastructure such as roads, and electricity in collaboration