Tunisia has signed agreements with Norway and Japan to build solar power plants in the regions of Sidi Bouzid, in the centre of the country, and Tozeur in the west. Together, they will have an output of 100MW.

Novo News reports that the agreements are part of Tunis’ plan to increase renewable energy from 7% to 35% by 2030, and thereby cut carbon emissions by 45%.

It has been estimated that Tunisia has a potential photovoltaic output of 840GW and concentrated solar output of 1 terawatt.

Yesterday’s signing ceremony was attended by Fatma Thabet Chiboub, Tunisia’s energy minister, and by Faycal Trifa, the general director of the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company.

The Norwegian side was represented by renewables company Scatec and Japan by Aeolus, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho, the carmaker’s investment division.

Aeolus bought a 49% share in Scatec’s Tunisian operation last month.

Scatec has a 20-year power-purchase agreement with Tunisian Energy and Gas, with the option to extend by 10 years. It will build the solar plants on an EPC basis, and will also manage, operate and maintain them.

World Bank guarantee

The projects are being supported by a €52m guarantee from the World Bank, indemnifying the developers against force majeure events such as war or expropriation.

Other solar generation projects are already underway in Gafsa and Tataouine, respectively in the west and south of the country. These should be operational between 2025 and 2026. A third, in Kairouan, is being financed by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank.

The overall investment to promote energy savings is around €200m, which is expected to lead to a 147,000-tonne reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.