Tunisia Ramps Up its Energy Transition with Series of Solar Projects

Tunisia has already awarded contracts for four utility-scale #PV projects with a total generation capacity of 1.7GW. The solar farms are expected to come online during either 2025 or 2026.

All the projects are undertaken by Independent Power Producers (#IPP) based on a Power Purchase Agreement (#PPA) with Tunisia’s National Electricity Company, Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG).

The first project is a 200-MW solar farm in Kairouan, which will be built by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power. It is expected to become operational in mid-2025.

The second project is a 400-MW plant in Tataouine, to be built by France’s EDF, UAE’s Masdar, and Japan’s Jinko Power. The plant will become operational by the end of 2025. The third project is a 500-MW farm in Sidi Bouzid, which will be built by the same consortium and is also expected to become operational by the end of 2025.

The fourth PV project is rated at 600 MW and is located in Gafsa, which is a JV between EDG and Masdar. The last farm is expected to be completed by mid-2026.

In addition, at the end of March 2025, the Energy Ministry of Tunisia announced that it has granted licenses to another more PV plants with an additional capacity of 500 MW. The total value of these new PV projects is estimated to bring in USD 386 million into the Tunisian economy. In the new wave of IPP, we note Qair International, Voltalia, Norway’s Scatec, and Japan’s Aeolus, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho.

Over the past few years, Tunisia has ramped up its #EnergyTransition program with a target of enabling at least 3.8 GW of renewable capacity by 2025. A good portion of the surface area lies in the Sahara Desert with bountiful solar illumination; thus, solar energy is basically a freely available resource waiting to be tapped into.