Emirati energy company AMEA Power has announced that the construction work of the Kairouan solar project in Tunisia will begin in the second quarter of 2023. The 100 MW solar power plant will be developed by AMEA in consortium with Chinese company TBEA Xinjiang New Energy Co. Ltd., where both companies were awarded the project tender by the Tunisian government in December 2019.
The announcement was made recently by AMEA Power’s chairman, Hussain Al Nowais on the sidelines of a business mission led by the Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Enterprises (CONECT) to Ivory Coast. The chairman said that a visit will be made to Tunisia in mid-December to meet the Tunisian authorities and energy players in order to discuss ways of achieving the solar project
Al Nowais also mentioned that the launch of this solar project was delayed due to several international situations, including the Russia-Ukraine war, after the launch of tenders required for its implementation. AMEA has already finalized all the conventional and legal procedures and currently working on mobilizing the necessary financing.
According to the chairman, the project will cost between $120 and $140 million, and an agreement in principle has already been secured from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The project is expected to reach commercial operation in the first half of 2024.
The future solar park to be developed in Metbassta, Kairouan Governorate, will have the capacity to generate nearly 230 GWh of renewable electricity per year. This will be enough to meet the energy needs of around 43,000 local households for a year.
The chairman recalled that Tunisia has appropriate natural resources and human skills to attract private investment in renewable energy including solar and wind. He also expressed their willingness to boost its investments in clean power in the northern governorate of Bizerte.
The 100 MW solar project is a part of the Tunisian government’s plan of developing several solar projects in the country with a combined capacity of 500 MW. This project is in line with the country’s aim of increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix to 30% by 2030.
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