Perspectives for renewable energies in Europe and east Africa

Today, technological innovations have created many substitutes for fossil energy sources. The propagation of renewable energy has a clear social as well as economic and industrial dimension. Electricity production from hydro, wind, solar and biomass is the most relevant option for a sustainable energy supply.,In Europe, the energy consumption out of renewable energy sources represents today about 6% and will increase significantly. Within the final demand of total energy, the share of electricity is about 26% and nearly all people have access to electricity. In Tanzania, electricity covers 2.6% of the total energy consumption and only about 8% of the 30 million inhabitants have a connection to the electric grid. The annual consumption of electricity per capita is about 60 kWh. Considering theses facts and the low Tanzanian population density of 26 persons/km(2), a programme for decentralised off-grid electricity distribution based on renewable energies is reasonable. It allows a sustainable growth process and fits with the advanced technical developments. The initiative 'From Fossil Fire to the Sun' may help to support such idea.