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Tunisia needs local financing to accelerate clean energy deployment.
- The procurement and permit process for grid-connected renewables need to be simplified.
Although Tunisia has set targets of achieving 30 per cent electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030, only 3 per cent of renewables generation has been achieved. A recent document developed by the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, the National Agency for Energy Conservation (National Agency for Energy Management (ANME), and the Energy Transition Fund (ETF) have revealed that the country needs new streams of capital to meet its targets.
More national financial institutions need to be involved in accelerating the deployment of clean energy services. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) noted that Tunisia needs to include more national financial institutions, adopt a reform of financial instruments of the RE sector and operationalise the Energy Transition Fund.
The report further states that local banks need to extend credit facilities to the RE sector, and capacity building among local banks is critical to improving local investment conditions. The report goes on to propose the establishment of a national electricity regulator to simplify the permit and procurement processes.
IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said the report’s recommendations would lead to creating a robust energy system capable of creating new jobs and enhancing growth. “Central to those recommendations is the need to stimulate the flow of low-carbon capital within the country through measures focused on capacity building, simplifying the regulatory environment and broadening the mandate of the national energy transition fund,” he added.
Across Africa, local financing for renewable energy is still very low as developers have had to rely on the influx of finance from Development Finance Organisations and investment funds in Europe or North America.