Norway’s Scatec to build 120MW solar plant in Tunisia

Norwegian renewable energy provider Scatec has won a contract to build a 120 megawatt solar power plant in Tunisia.

Scatec said it has been awarded a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tunisian state utility Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz for a solar power plant in the southern city of Tataouine.

The PPA was awarded as part of a government tender to support Tunisia’s drive to increase reliance on renewable energy sources and enhance the country’s energy security, Scatec said.

The total capital expenditure for the project is estimated at €80 million ($95 million) and will be financed by a combination of non-recourse debt and equity, Scatec said. 

“The company currently owns 100 percent of the project and will invite equity partners to reduce its ownership stake. Scatec is further in dialogue with selected financial institutions for debt financing of the project,” it said, adding that the total financing structure will be communicated at financial close in the first half of 2027.

Scatec will be the designated engineering, procurement and construction provider with a scope of around 80 percent of capital expenditure, and will provide asset management along with operations and maintenance services once the plant is operational, the statement said.

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The Tunisian electricity ministry said in early 2025 has plans to allocate around TD7.1 billion ($2.2 billion) for the development of the power sector in 2025.

The ministry said that the aim is to expand reliance on solar and wind power to 35 percent in the next six years and slash electricity imports from Algeria and Libya.

It expected that solar and wind energy projects would enable Tunisia to produce nearly 4,850 megawatts of green electricity by 2030.Tunisia has also announced its intention to launch its first hydrogen production projects starting probably in the South-Eastern Gabès Governorate in 2030.