Recently, the barren landscape of southern Tunisia has also become a place of solar power. At the end of last year, the first photovoltaic power plant in the North African country went into operation here, financed by the German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) with 11.5 million euros. The 20-megawatt plant can generate about twice as much electricity as a solar power plant of the same size in Germany.”We are looking at a solar irradiation of 2000 kilowatt hours per square meter per year,” says Nejib Sajari, manager of the state-owned power utility Société tunisienne de l’électricité et du gaz (STEG). In Germany, the figure is only 1000 kilowatt hours for the same area.

This makes the south of Tunisia one of the most irradiated regions on earth. This makes photovoltaics very attractive in view of the lower prices. The green solar electricity can be generated here for around 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour, says Sajari. Neither wind power, coal, gas nor nuclear power can do this so cheaply. Nor is solar energy in Germany, where the cost of generation is four to five cents. Tunisia and Italy are jointly planning the construction of a power line through the Mediterranean, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2025. If it really happens, Tunisia could in future supply solar power directly to Europe. “In winter, when our electricity demand drops, we could export surpluses,” Sajari suggests.

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