- The Tunisian government has announced that the 10 MW Tozeur Solar PV plant will be commissioned and connected to the grid this month.
- Italian smart grid developer/EPC contractor TerniEnergia has been responsible for the construction of the project which includes battery storage allowing discharge at night.
- TerniEnergia was contracted by the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG)
According to the authorities the 10MW power capacity produced by the plant will offset 8.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The project also allows state-owned company (STEG) to replace existing fossil fuel energy production with solar, saving 2,900 tonnes of oil per year.
The project was funded by German development agency, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) through a US 14.6m loan supplemented by a further US 1.9m grant. The financial support comes under the European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF).
The project also received a US $635,000 donation from the German government as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
The Tunisian Government has set a target of 4.7 gigawatts renewable energy capacity by 2030 which will offset 30% of Tunisia’s electricity needs.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
