Summary:

On 18 September 2024, the Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Fatma Chiboub, and the Director of The Tunisian Company for Gas and Electricity (STEG), Faycel Trifa, signed two agreements with Norwegian energy company, Scatec, and a Japanese company belonging to Toyota, AEOLUS. The deals lay out plans to pursue two photovoltaic electricity production sites in Sidi Bouzid and Tozeur. 

According to the Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Wael Chouchane, the deals are part of a 2018 international call for tenders issued by the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy, targeting the development of 500 megawatts of solar energy across several sites: 50 megawatts (MW) each in Sidi Bouzid and Tozeur, 100 MW in Kairouan and Gafsa, and 200 MW in Tataouine. 

Chouchane pointed out that the Ministry published a new call for tenders in late 2022, aiming to produce 1,700 megawatts of renewable energy, including 800 MW of solar energy and 600 MW of wind energy. The tender included four phases of project development between 2024 and 2026 on sites proposed by investors, and 300 MW of solar energy on two sites proposed by the Tunisian government. 

Outlook: 

The agreements with Scatec and AEOLUS mark another step toward Tunisia achieving its National Energy Strategy, including the goal of producing up to 35% of electricity from renewable energy by 2035. 

The deals also reflect Tunisia’s attractiveness for international energy companies that benefit from the government-sponsored efforts to reduce dependence on Algerian gas. 

However, these projects are unlikely to produce noticeable economic effects in the short-term and Tunisia will continue to bear the financial burden of importing foreign energy products to produce electricity locally. 

The fact that the international call for tenders dates to 2018, but the deals were only signed in September 2024 points to how slowly such deals develop as they move through the government bureaucracy. This pace does not appear set to quicken. 

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