President Samia Suluhu Hassan officially opened the $2.84 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project on the Rufiji River in Mkalinju on Saturday.

Hassan toured the facility and thanked the Energy Ministry, contractors and Tanzanians involved in delivering the project.

"We had no option but to continue with the project given its immense importance to the development of our country," Hassan said.

"Indeed, it is a great joy for all of us to witness the completion of this project, which for many years has been part of our national plans and efforts to ensure that we have sufficient and reliable energy to support various development activities and the well-being of our people ," she added.

The nine-turbine facility has an installed capacity of 2,115 MW, making it the largest hydropower plant in East Africa and one of the biggest on the continent.

Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi said Tanzania's total installed electricity generation capacity now stands at 4,646 MW.

According to Ndejembi, the Julius Nyerere plant accounted for 44.9 per cent of all electricity generated and supplied to Tanzania's national grid in the year to May 31, 2026.

The additional capacity puts Tanzania's available generation above its current peak demand, creating room for increased industrial electricity use and potential exports to neighbouring countries.

Construction of the project began in 2019 and was carried out by an Egyptian consortium comprising Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly attended the inauguration on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Plans to generate large-scale electricity from the Rufiji River date back decades. The development was previously known as the Stiegler's Gorge hydropower scheme before being named after Tanzania's founding president, Julius Nyerere.

The Tanzanian government plans to use the additional electricity capacity to support manufacturing, mining and agriculture, attract investment and develop the country into a regional electricity supplier.

According to recent data confirmed by the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2025, a surprising number of nations, particularly in Africa, have overwhelmingly renewable electricity grids.

Here are the top 10 countries with the highest share of renewable electricity production:

What these numbers show is that countries often overlooked in global energy conversations are, in fact, global leaders when it comes to renewable reliance. Much of this dominance comes from hydropower, supported in some cases by biomass and smaller-scale solar and wind systems.

In places like DR Congo and Ethiopia, vast river systems provide clean electricity, while in Kenya and Tanzania, investments in geothermal and hydropower have transformed their national energy profiles.

The 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy highlights the significance of these shifts in a broader global context. Worldwide, energy demand rose by around 2% in 2024, but electricity demand grew even faster at nearly 4%, creating pressure to expand capacity quickly.

For the first time, low-carbon electricity sources (renewables plus nuclear) accounted for more than 40% of global electricity production, thanks largely to record additions of solar and wind. Yet fossil fuels continue to rise in absolute terms, showing the world is still in a difficult transition phase.

Africa’s dominance in renewable share is not just about resources, but also about constraints. Many of these nations lack the infrastructure to rely heavily on coal, oil, or gas. Electricity demand is relatively low compared to industrialised economies, which means that even modest renewable installations can supply the majority of power.

At the same time, dependence on hydropower makes these systems vulnerable to drought and climate variability, raising questions about resilience and reliability.

Globally, the conversation around renewables is moving beyond capacity building to issues of finance, policy, and grid integration. Recent news reflects a major pact cut public funding for fossil fuels by as much as 78% in 2024, while clean energy investments in 2025 are projected to reach $2.2 trillion, nearly double fossil fuel financing.