Tunisia awards solar power projects to international companies

• Four new projects granted
• Germany, Norway, France and Japan
• Tunisia short of solar target

Tunisia has awarded four new solar power projects to international companies for the production of 500 megawatts of electricity as part of a drive to expand the share of renewable energy in its mix.

Tunisia’s industry, mines and energy minister Fatima Chiboub signed the deals this week with representatives from Germany’s Qair Group, Norway’s Scatec, Voltalia of France and Aeolus of Japan.

“These projects will improve the energy infrastructure and this will enhance socio-economic stability in the country,” she said after signing in the capital Tunis.

A statement carried by Alshuruq and other dailies this week said the four projects would be set up in various parts of Tunisia and would be completed in 2027.

They are part of phase 1 of a series of solar and wind power projects with a combined generation capacity of around 1,700MW, the statement said.

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In 2024, the Industry, Mines and Energy Ministry said it has set a target to expand the use of renewable energy sources to 30 percent of the total energy mix by 2030.

But it said that efforts to achieve the target had not succeeded as Tunisia had only produced around 700MW of power from solar and other renewable energy sources against a target of 4,800MW.

Tunisia’s Foreign Investment Promotion Agency said in January that investment in the energy sector jumped by nearly 43 percent to about 689 million dinars ($218 million) last year, compared with nearly 479 million dinars in 2023.