Tunisia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy has announced the results of the sixth round of the authorization regime for solar PV projects.

The 309 approved projects have a combined capacity of 455 MW, comprising 187 projects of 1 MW, 119 projects of 2 MW, and three projects of 10 MW.

The tender was heavily oversubscribed, with only 200 MW of capacity originally sought.

The selected independent power producers (IPPs) will sell electricity to Société tunisienne de l’électricité et du gaz (STEG), the Tunisian state-owned grid operator, under long-term power purchase agreements.

The authorization scheme is one of three regulatory frameworks governing private renewable energy generation in Tunisia, alongside the concession scheme for large-scale projects and the self-consumption scheme. Designed for SMEs, landowners and small investors, the scheme covers projects of up to 10 MW for solar, 30 MW for wind, 15 MW for biomass and 5 MW for other renewable energy sources.

All electricity generated under the scheme is sold exclusively to the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG). Pre-tax tariffs are TND 0.217/kWh (€0.074/kWh) for plants of up to 1 MW, TND 0.201/kWh for plants of up to 2 MW, and TND 0.142/kWh for projects ranging from 2 MW to 10 MW.

The fifth round resulted in 186 preliminary authorizations for solar projects with a combined capacity of approximately 288 MW.