Voltalia, an international player in renewable energies, has won a solar project near Gafsa in south-west Tunisia.
Building on its expertise and commitment to the region for more than five years, Voltalia has been awarded a 130-megawatt solar project in the Gafsa region. The output of the future power station will be equivalent to the consumption of more than 700,000 inhabitants.
The project revenues will come from a 30-year power sales contract with STEG (Société Tunisienne de l'Électricité et du Gaz), the operator of the Tunisian public grid.
Tunisia targets to achieve a renewable energy electricity production rate of 30% by 2030, versus 2.2% in 2023. In a country with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, solar is particularly competitive in comparison to thermal power plants relying mostly on imported natural gas. On the other hand, the country is particularly exposed to climate change due to the size of its climate-dependent agriculture and its high level of urbanisation potentially prone to flooding.
Construction is scheduled to start in 2025 and commissioning is expected in 2026.
Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia, said: 'We are delighted to have won this project. Thanks to attractive climate conditions, supportive governmental policies and strong support from international financial institutions, Tunisia has a great renewable energy potential in the short and long term.'
Source: Voltalia
