The Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) agreed with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to carryout the feasibility study for the installation of five photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in Southern Tunisia. The facilities have a total capacity of 50MW, with a possible extension of 300MW, reported SeeNews Renewables.
The project’s budget is $1.7m, with an implementation plan across 2017-2018. The recommended cities for the solar plant projects are Medenine, Tataouine, Gafsa, Kebili, Djerba and Gabes, according to African Manager. KOICA’s Resident Representative, Yoon Jeehyun, and STEG’s CEO, Ameur Bechir signed the agreement, in the presence of the Director General of Bilateral Cooperation in the Tunisian Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, Khalil Kammoun.
The initiative is part of Tunisia’s strategy aimed at achieving sustainable development through renewable energy, especially as consumption of electricity has seen a remarkable growth, around 6% per year. In related news, Egypt Oil&Gas reported that Tunisia and Russia had signed an intergovernmental agreement on bilateral cooperation in areas of the civil nuclear power. This had included, but was not limited to, assistance in the development and improvement of Tunisian nuclear infrastructure, design and construction of nuclear power and research reactors, as well as desalination plants.
