Tunisian Government Distributes Solar-powered Water Heaters to 4,000 Families

The Tunisian government is distributing solar-powered water heaters to 4000 under-served families in a move to optimize energy consumption in the country. Tunisia’s Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Energy Transition aims to reduce its fossil fuel consumption by 30% by 2030.  

As part of this energy strategy, the National Agency for Energy Management (ANME) has been providing solar-powered water heaters to households in the country.

Recently, the government has completed the provision of solar water heaters to 400,000 households.

According to AMNE, these solar-powered kits represent the installation of solar panels in residential areas over an area of one million square meters. These devices have enabled the country to save nearly 650,000 tons of natural or liquefied gas.

The feat was achieved through a state-of-the-art financial mechanism that encourages people to install solar water heaters. The mechanism includes removing the barriers of the heaviness of initial investment and high payback time relative to other conventional technologies.

The distribution of solar-powered water heaters is an integral part of the initiative ‘Program for the Promotion of Solar Water Heating in the Residential Sector’ (PROSOL). The program, launched in 2005, is a joint cooperation between ANME, the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG), the Italian government, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

According to Souad Abrougui, the Director of PROSOL, the initiative aims to create a sustainable market for solar thermal applications in the country. The program has helped to consolidate Tunisia’s leadership in terms of solar thermal and inspired other African countries to set up similar mechanisms.

Among other local entrepreneurs projects in Tunisia that have been initiated in recent years in the field of solar energy is Kumulus Water’s solar-powered water generator. The installation is equipped with four filters and intelligent functions. It has been providing drinking water to the pupils in Makthar, northwest Tunisia, since May this year.