Tunisia

• Tunisia: CDM to fund Solar Water Heaters-

  After three years of preparation, the first Tunisian Programme of Activities (PoAs) for solar water heating was registered successfully with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in April 2011. It is only the second African PoA focusing exclusively on solar water heaters after the “SASSA Low Pressure Solar Water Heater Programme” in South Africa, which started in March 2011.
  Photos: Biome Solar Industry

• Solar Water Heaters Development in MENA Region (2009)-

  This is a presentation from Dr. Mohamad Kordab (Energy Expert of the Damascus University) during the “Solar Thermal Applications workshop” held in Syria. The event was jointly organized by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), regional organizations from Syria and Egypt and the German Development Cooperation (GTZ).

• Initial Market Assessment Report North Africa & Middle East (2011)-

  This report is one of the deliverables of the “Global Solar Water Heating Market Transformation and Strengthening Initiative” project, initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Copper Association.

• Qualitative Approach for Solar Water Heaters. The Tunisian experience (2009)-

  This is a presentation delivered by Mr. Noureddine Ketari from the Tunisian Institute Aptitudes during the Regional Workshop on Standardization and Certification of Solar Water Heaters organized by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Tunisia.

• Tunisian Norms and the SWH Testing Procedures (2009)-

  This is a presentation delivered by Mr. Rafik Zaiane a Tunisian ministry official, during the Regional Workshop on Standardization and Certification of Solar Water Heaters organized by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Tunisia.

• Tunisia: PROSOL Subsidises 4,000 m² of Commercial Installations -

  The “Collective Prosol Programme” in Tunisia is gaining momentum. The National Agency for Energy Conservation (ANME) started the subsidy programme for solar thermal installations in the tertiary sector back in 2008. The application rate was low at first, but 2010 became a good year for the commercial solar thermal market. At the end of that year, ANME counted a total installed and subsidised collector area of 4,000 m², including four hotel installations with together 480 m² and around 130 smaller installations under 30 m². According to ANME, grants for another 1,770 m² are still in the pipeline. And, a solar programme targeting 18 public swimming pools is also under development. The photo shows the solar installation on the Iberostar Phenicia hotel in Hammamet, at the northeast coast of Tunisia.
  Photo: Alcor

• The Emergence of a Regulatory Framework in the MENA Region. Perspective from the Maghreb Countries (2009)-

  This presentation was delivered by Mr. Rafik Missaoui, a Tunisian Energy expert, during the “MENA Energized: Regional Challenges to "Green the Power" Sector” event held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The event was jointly organized by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) and the Euro Mediterranean Energy Market Integration Project (MED-EMIP).

• Solar Thermal Application in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Tunisia (2009)-

  This paper is the Cairo workshop report concerning Solar Water Heater (SWH) technologies used in the six Arab countries. The workshop was organized by the Egyptian-German Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in cooperation with GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation) and with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The aim was to compare the use of SWH technologies and to present a SWH market overview of those countries.

• ESTEC 2011 in France: Early Bird Registration extended-

  The early bird registration for the European Solar Thermal Energy Conference (estec 2011) has been extended to 15 July. You can save around EUR 100 if you sign up for the 2-day conference before this date. It will take place in Marseilles, France, on 20 and 21 October 2011. Fees are lower for members of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) or the French Solar Association ENERPLAN.
  Photo: ESTIF

• Cyprus: 4th International Solar Air-Conditioning Conference in Lanarca-

  Following Bad Staffelstein (Germany, 2005), Terragona (Spain, 2007), and Palermo (Italy, 2009), the 4th International Solar Air Conditioning Conference will now take place in Lanarca, Cyprus, from 12 to 14 October 2011. Over the years, the conference has grown into an important event, at which scientists and industrial researchers, product manufacturers, building designers and planners, contractors, and installers have met to exchange knowledge and experiences. The complete conference schedule is now available for download - and also attached to this news piece.
  Photo: Zenith Consulting Engineers

• Tunisia: First Steps towards introducing Qualisol and Solar Keymark -

  Quality label for installers: By adapting French installer certification Qualisol, Tunisia's market development project Prosol has already entered “the 3rd Dimension” of quality control since its launch in 2005. Training is provided by the National Chamber of Renewable Energies (CNSEnR) after which installers will have to pass an exam to use the label in shop windows, ads, offers and invoices. Tunisia is a perfect example of quality-oriented solar thermal market development.

• Tunisia: „The solar thermal sector was not much affected by the revolution“-

  The economic situation in Tunisia two months after former President Ben Ali left the country is back to normal. Material supply is available without delay, the grants of the incentive programme are paid and even the demand for solar water heaters slowed down only a bit. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with Amjed Sibai, Managing Director of Sines Industries, one of the largest collector and tank manufacturers in the country, about the current business situation in Tunisia. Sines was founded in 2005 by him and his brother Ismail Sibai, who transferred the technology from their Greek partner which has been in the solar thermal market since 1976.

• Algeria: Roll-out of the first Phase of Subsidy Programme ALSOL-

  The Algerian solar water heating programme ALSOL went into its first pilot phase. 400 residential systems with a 200 litre storage tank have been subsidised at around 45 % of the investment costs, capped at Algerian Dinar (DZD) 110,000. The licenses for installing the 400 subsidised systems were distributed among 15 solar thermal system suppliers in January. Largely, those thermosiphon systems consist of 1 collector, as can be seen on the photo on the left.
  Photo: SCET Energie

• Desalination Units Powered by Renewable Energy Systems: Opportunities & Challenges (2005)-

  This document gathers a series of papers presented during the International Seminar held in Hammamet, Tunisia in 2005. The seminar was organised in the framework of the ADU-RES project (Co-ordination Action for Autonomous Desalination Units based on Renewable Energy Systems). This project received funding from the European Commission from 2004 to 2006 and it remained active ever since, working more like a network of contacts and best practices.

• ECOMED 2011, Hammamet- The third International Exhibition of Energy Management will be held from 27 to 30 April 2011 at the Expo Center Medina in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia. ECOMED 2011 will present once again the Tunisian policy in saving energy. It will show the interest of large international firms to relocate to Tunisia and conquer the North African markets. Specific sectors are building and insulating materials, industrial energy efficiency and cogeneration. A part of the show will be dedicated to renewable energies like solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind energy, biomass, biofuels and geothermal energy.
• Assessment of the Techno-Economic Potential of CSP for Electricity and Desalination in Mediterranean Partner Countries (2010)-

  This document is one of the deliverables of the MED-CSD project. The main aim of this FP7 project is the assessment of the technico-economic potential of CSP for electricity and desalination in the Mediterranean region. The document explores the demand for water and electricity in the Mediterranean and assesses the market potential of CSP in a number of countries (Cyprus, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon).

• Potential Demonstration Sites for Wind and CSP Projects (2009)-

  The REMAP Project (Action Plan for High Priority Renewable Energy Initiatives in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Area) is a two years initiative funded under the European Commission FP6 with the goal of investigating two electricity generation technologies: wind power and concentrated solar power, in nine European and Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Jordan, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey).

• Solar Water Heating Accreditation System. Specification Conditions (2009)-

  This presentation was made during the Regional Workshop on Solar Water Heating Certification and Standardization organised by RCREEE (Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency) in Tunisia in autumn 2009.

• Record Year 2008: Global Market Growth of 35 %-

  In 2008, the global solar thermal market grew by a significant 35%. The main reasons behind such a strong upward trend were the high growth rates of glazed water collectors in China (+35 %), Europe (+63 %) and North America (+42 %). Graphic: AEE Intec

• Developing Countries Success Stories (2010)-

  This document relates the status of the green economy initiative in 8 countries. The Green Economy Initiative (GEI) was designed by the United National Environment Programme to assist governments in “greening” their economies by reshaping and refocusing policies, investments and spending towards greener sectors. The document refers different technologies and renewable energy sources, including the usage of solar thermal and CSP in China and Tunisia.

• Commitments Toward Wind and Energy Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy Integration in Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia and Turkey (2009)-

  The REMAP Project (Action Plan for High Priority Renewable Energy Initiatives in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Area) is a two years initiative funded under the European Commission FP6 with the goal of investigating two electricity generation technologies: wind power and concentrated solar power, in nine European and Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Jordan, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey).

• Solar Cooling at the Red Sea: Demonstration Project with a Payback Time of 30 Years-

  The Egyptian Minister for Environmental Affairs, Maged George, is being interviewed on the roof of the Environmental Affairs Agency building, which is equipped with a 82 m² vacuum tube collector system. Source: www.eeaa.gov.eg

• Concentrating Solar Power for Seawater Desalination (2007)-

  This extensive study from 2007 assesses in a detailed way the potential of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems for large scale seawater desalination. The geographical scope of the report focuses on the urban centres in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

  The objective of the study is to demonstrate that these large scale CSP processes can be used to provide water supply in a balanced, affordable and secure way and as such helping avoiding a threatening fresh water deficit.

• Intersolar Europe Conference 2010: 24 Speakers from 9 different Countries-

  

  Solar thermal professionals from all over the world will once again gather in Munich, Germany, to attend the international solar trade fair Intersolar 2010, which has just recently been renamed to Intersolar Europe. Its German organizer, the Solar Promotion GmbH, announced record-breaking registration figures of 1,700 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors.

• Algeria: A Sunny State Still Waiting its Turn-

  Algeria has one of the greatest solar potentials in the world. The annual radiation ranges from 1,700 kWh/m² in the North to 2,260 kWh in the South. The solar water heater market, however, is still in a deep slumber. Waking it up is the responsibility of a new subsidy programme.
  Source: www.sunconsult.dz

• Renewable Energy in the southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries Current Situation- This report has been prepared by the Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie (OME) with the support of OME members and partners of the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Committee (RESDC). It consists in an update of the previous version carried out by OME with support of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory (IMET) in the
• Soleil de Nefta – Solar City in the South-West of Tunisia-

  Will this be the future of Nefta? The Soleil de Nefta project foresees the installation of solar energy systems of about 20 MW by 2016, in order to produce hot water, solar electricity and solar cooling energy for the city of Nefta in the south-west of Tunisia.
  Photo: ANME

• ECOMED 2010, Hammamet -

  The second International Exhibition of Energy Management will be held from 22 to 24 April 2010 at the Expo Center Medina in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia. This edition will present the Tunisian policy in saving energy. It will show the interest of large international firms to relocate to Tunisia and conquer the North African markets.

• Policy Measures to Support Solar Water Heating: Information, Incentives and Regulations (2007)-

  This report was submitted by the World Energy Council in 2007. It describes the different instruments used to promote the diffusion of solar panels for heating water. The measures include economic incentives, regulations and strategies to improve the quality of equipment and installations through the use of technical standards and quality labels. The report includes case studies to show as a cross-section of programmes set up in industrialized and developing countries. The case studies include the following countries: Austria, China, India, Mexico, Spain, and Tunisia.

• Concentrating Solar Power for the Mediterranean Region-

  This 2005 report assesses the data that is needed in order for strategic development and to achieve long-term energy and water security in the wide Mediterranean Region. A major part of the study focuses on concentrating solar thermal power generation since it is considered by far the largest available renewable energy resource in the EU-MENA region. 

• An Overview of CSP in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (2008)-

  This document from 2008 gives a comprehensive overview of CSP development in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The paper first looks into the key drivers and key inhibitors that impact the growth of CSP. Particular attention is given to the cost factor of CSP such as initial investment costs and the operating & maintenance costs.

• Tunisian Joint Research Projects in the Fields of Energy, Water and Hydrogen- The Tunisian Ministry in charge of Scientific Research in 2001 launched a study defining a priority list of joint research projects, involving research institutions and industry, in the field of renewable energies. The projects, with an estimated duration of 5 to 6 years, will be undertaken by the National Agency of Renewable Energies (ANER).
• Creating a Credit Market for Solar Thermal: the PROSOL Project in Tunisia- The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been working with the finance sector since the late 1990s to develop innovative mechanisms for the promotion of sustainable energy technologies in developing countries. Through its Renewable Energy and Finance Unit, UNEP has implemented a variety of “financial catalysts” with the aim to lower risks, buy down transaction costs, build capacity and address soft market barriers that constrain sustainable energy technologies growth.
• Framework Conditions for Solar Thermal Energy Use in the Southern Mediterranean Countries-

  SOLATERM is a project funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6).

  This 2007 report provides a very good overview of the market situations in the 8 participating Mediterranean countries. It is a very useful document for policy-makers wanting an overview of recent legislative frameworks, financial incentives and market potential for growth.

• Study on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Project Identification in FEMIP Countries- The Study of CDM Project Identification in FEMIP countries (Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership)aimed to: • investigate the possibilities for carbon finance and crediting activities in the Mediterranean region, identify priority sectors and make relevant recommendations; • build a pipeline of concrete CDM projects or project concepts that the European Investment Bank (EIB) could help finance in the years to come; • promote closer communication between the EIB and local CDM actors.
• The Solar Thermal Market in Tunisia- This document, dated from 2002, provides background information on the implementation of solar thermal energies in Tunisia. The first distributions of solar heaters in Tunisia date back to the early 1980’s, but the real take-off only happened thanks to a World Environment Fund (WEF) project. The project objective was to stimulate the market, overcome financial barriers, by reducing the purchase price (a 35% subsidy of the investment cost of SWH was put in place), and to create a local base of industrialists and operators.
• Tunisian Market Growing Rapidly- The Tunisian solar thermal market has increased tenfold in only the last four years. Before starting the grant programme Prosol II in 2005, only 7,000 m² had been installed in Tunisia (4.9 MW_th). Last year already showed installations of 60,000 m² (42 MW_th), 74 % more than in the previous year. For 2008, the official target is 80,000 m² (56 MW_th) of newly installed collector area.
• Short Compendium on Solar Thermal Applications and the Solar Water Heaters Industry in the Middle East (2009)-

  The report is a summary of the workshop on solar water heating (SWH) technology which took place in Cairo in March 2009. The workshop looked into the technical aspects, framework conditions and private sector needs in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Tunisia.

• International Experiences with the Promotion of Solar Water Heaters (SWH) at Household-level-

  The objective of this paper is to analyse and evaluate international experiences with the promotion of solar water heaters at household level.

  During the compilation of this study, it became apparent that responsible organisations did not pay much attention to a distinct monitoring and an explicit evaluation of promotion programmes. The study shows which promotion measures resulted particularly successful, which difficulties occurred during their implementation and how these circumstances possibly could have been avoided.

• Is there enough sunshine in all regions?- Solar thermal systems produce hot water whether the system is installed in Sweden, Germany, India, Tunisia or South America. The annual yield depends on the application (domestic hot water, pool heating, space heating), the local climatic conditions and system dimensioning (high or low solar fraction).
• Prosol: Successful grant and credit programme in Tunisia -

  The grant programme Prosol II started 2005 in Tunisia and increased the market volume of solar water heaters tenfold within some years. See also news at: http://www.solarthermalworld.org/node/166

   

• Promotion of Solar Water Heaters- This 55-page study "International Experiences with the Promotion of Solar Water Heaters on Household-level", published in October 2006, introduces possible promotion mechanisms for solar water heaters on a household-level. Criteria for their assessment are defined in compliance therewith. The main focus of this paper is on describing and evaluating international experiences with promotion mechanisms in Germany, Greece, France, Tunisia, and Barcelona. Further information: www.gtz.de/en/praxis/12538.htm