04 Mar 2022 | 12:05 UTC

Tunisia signs power purchase agreement for 100 MW solar plant: report

Highlights

Construction expected to begin by year-end

Plant set to generate nearly 223,171 MWh/year

The Tunisian government has signed a concession and power purchase agreement for a 100 MW solar power plant, with Dubai-based AMEA Power and China's TBEA Xinjiang New Energy Co., UAE state news agency Wam reported March 4.

The project, estimated to be worth $100 million, will be built in Kairouan in the center-east of the North African state.

Construction work on the project is expected to begin by the end of 2022.

The UAE-Chinese consortium won the bid to construct the solar power project in 2019 as part of the first round of such projects tendered via an international program.

On completion, the solar plant is expected to generate nearly 223,171 MWh of power annually, offsetting around 113,525 mt of carbon dioxide emissions on a yearly basis.

Tunisia, which imports nearly three-quarters of its natural gas needs, plans to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 30% by 2030, which will be equivalent to the addition of 4 GW to the power grid.