Tunisia doubles up

TUNISIA: Tunisia has doubled its installed wind capacity with the completion of the first 50MW of a 190MW plant under construction at Metline and Kchabta in the northern Bizerte region.

by Jan Dodd 18 April 2012

First 50MW complete at Metline and Kchabta

In 2009, the Tunisian electricity and gas company STEG contracted Spanish turbine manufacturer MADE, a subsidiary of Gamesa, to supply 143 1.32MW turbines on a turnkey basis. Completion of the full 190MW is provisionally scheduled for the end of the year.

The Spanish government is providing funding in the form of a EUR300 million concessional loan. France's CDC Climate Asset Management has signed an agreement with STEG to buy the certified emission reduction certificates (CERs) generated by the plant.

Up to now, Tunisia had just 54MW turning at Sidi Daoud, at Cap Bon, to the east of Tunis. The country is targeting 505MW of wind capacity by 2016 and 2.7GW by 2030.