Neila Nouria Gongi, the Tunisian Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, said that her government aims to install 3.8GW of PV generation by 2030. She made this announcement at an event held by the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency of Tunisia and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in late February. This story was first reported by local news outlets and other renewable energy news websites.
This target is part of a national strategy for the promotion of solar PV (a.k.a. the Tunisian Solar Plan). Minister Gongi said that her government is clear in its intent to adopt renewable generation technologies and diversify its energy mix. The Tunisian government also wants to have solar PV account for at least 30% of the domestic energy mix and achieve a 30% reduction in gas consumption by 2030.
The event where Minister Gongi made the announcement was a workshop on fostering cooperation between Japan and African countries in areas of renewable energy and sustainable development. Tunisia will be hosting the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in August 2022. This regular summit provides opportunities for coordinated decision-making and investments for both public and private entities.
The Tunisian Solar Plan has already provided tenders for 1.1GW of generation capacity, of which 500MW is under concession contracts, 400MW is under the authorization system, and 200MW is under self-generation systems. At the February event, Minister Gongi said that a new regulatory agency will be established to oversee the electric power sector. Also, structural reforms will be implemented to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Additionally, the government will publishing a magazine focusing on renewable energy.
Tunisia is heavily dependent on natural gas for electricity generation. However, according to the data from its government, the country’s natural gas production dropped by more than 30% during the period from 2010 to 2018. Hence, there is a sense of urgency to develop renewable energy projects and transition away from fossil fuels. Near the end of last year, the Tunisian government greenlighted the implementation of five PV projects with a total generation capacity of 500MW. Independent power producers that will be working on these projects include China’s TBEA, France’s Engie, and Norway’s Scatec.