UAE-based renewables developer AMEA Power has reached financial close on a 120MW solar PV project in Tunisia, the company’s first foray into the country.
Financing for the project, to the tune of US$86 million, came from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank – and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Construction will be handled by Kairouan Solar Plant, a project company registered in Tunisia and fully owned by AMEA Power.
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“This is a significant milestone for AMEA Power and for Tunisia, as it represents the largest solar project fully developed in the country to date,” AMEA Power’s chairman, Hussain Al Nowais, said. “Despite all the challenges that the market has been experiencing since the COVID pandemic, we are proud that we are delivering this project and honoring our commitment to supporting Tunisia’s transition to clean energy.”
The project is the first to be awarded under Tunisia’s ‘Concessions Regime’ tender scheme for projects over 10MW installed capacity. AEMA said that the site is being constructed under a build-own-operate model.
Tunisia has a target of 35% renewable energy in its generation mix by 2030, a significant alternation to its traditionally fossil fuel-heavy energy profile. Speaking to PV Tech Premium in May, project development manager at AMEA Power, Ignacio Carreras identified Tunisia as one of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region most ripe for solar PV development, particularly for green hydrogen generation.
AMEA Power has a number solar PV investments in North Africa, notably in Egypt where it has plans for a 560MW project supplied with modules from JA Solar. This project forms part of its gigawatt-scale plans for the country, for which it secured US$1.1 billion from the IFC last November. The company has committed US$5 billion to achieve 5GW of renewable energy capacity in Africa by 2030.
Other Middle Eastern-headquartered companies have also extended investment to Northern Africa, notably Masdar – the Saudi state-owned company – which established a joint venture in 2022 seeking gigawatt-scale deployments in Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.