Tunisia is expected this month to launch a tender for the procurement of 1,000 MW of wind and solar power, representing an investment of TND 2.5 billion (USD 1.04bn/EUR 847m), Reuters reports, citing a top government official.
The international tender is scheduled to start on April 27, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said at an energy conference, as cited by the news agency. The projects will be located in the regions of Kairouan, Tozeur, Tataouine, Sidi Bouzid, Kebeli and Tataouine. Further details were not provided.
In March, the North African country pledged to invest TND 4.3 billion in renewable energy projects over the next two years, with the biggest investments expected to be made in the solar power sector. This is part of an overall TND-12-billion package for energy projects, intended both for generation and grid upgrades, between 2018 and 2020.
According to a recent report by the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA), 2018 is expected to be the year for massive roll-out of solar energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The photovoltaic (PV) project pipeline for 2018 there amounts to 11.86 GW. Total of 4.9 GW of large solar projects are under construction.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Renewables Now)
