Sustainable energy use in rural areas: a Case of Energy from Jatropha

Biomass based fuels namely fuel wood, charcoal and bio-residues dominate the energy balance in Tanzania and they account for about 90 percent of the primary energy supply. The essential end uses are cooking, heating, and lighting. This research assessed and analyzed the role of jatropha on energy needs of off-grid rural villages. Leguruki and Selela villages were visited during data collection. The methodologies adopted in this study include data collection through interview, questionnaires, observation and site Visit, according to the analysis done, the number of house hold in Leguruki village are 700 households, the number of jatropha trees are 576 per house hold and the number of jatropha trees required for MFP are 14,276.51 trees. The MFP with jatropha oil is among the promising alternative energy source it has electrified leguruki village to about 7% which otherwise could have not been electrified without the project. Jatropha grows in most of rural areas that are not yet electrified; MFP project could be a best option of electrifying them while providing some essential services such as milling. It is recommended that, NGO’s and private companies interested to invest in poverty alleviation should think of supporting the start of many MFPs in various rural areas. The project could be run by villagers themselves when trained hence lowering the operation costs.