Renewable energy company AMEA Power has reached financial close on its 120MW Kairouan PV Solar project in Tunisia. The greenfield project is being built under a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model by Kairouan Solar Plant, a project company fully owned by AMEA Power.
The solar plant will be located in Metbassta, Kairouan governorate, will generate 222GWh of clean energy per year, and is expected to be commissioned by mid-2025. Project scope includes an on-site substation and the construction of an 8km 225kV interconnection to be built by the national utility, Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et de Gaz.
The $86 million solar plant is being financed by IFC and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The project was awarded to AMEA Power in December 2019 via a tender programme, with the concession and PPA being signed in June 2021. It marks the first solar project to reach financial close under the concession regime in Tunisia.
AMEA Power’s chairman, Hussain Al Nowais, commented on the announcement: “We are delighted to reach financial close on this 120MW solar power plant in Tunisia, our first project in the country. 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.
“Despite all the challenges that the market has been experiencing since the COVID pandemic, we are proud that we are delivering this project and honouring our commitment to supporting Tunisia’s transition to clean energy. We are grateful for the strong support of our lenders and the Tunisian government in making this project a reality.”
According to Sérgio Pimenta, IFC’s vice president for Africa, the Kairouan project will support Tunisia’s shift away from fossil fuels to a cleaner energy mix and will help attract more private investments into future green projects. These investments will be much needed to support the government’s goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix to 35% by 2030. This is especially ambitious as Tunisia is highly dependent on fossil fuel-based energy imports. AMEA Power has committed to mobilising $5 billion to achieve 5GW of renewable energy capacity in Africa by 2030.
Source: PEI
