Algeria

Only eight of the 93 companies which acquired the technical specifications for the tender have decided to participate in the procurement exercise. Collectively, the submitted project proposals had a combined capacity of 90 MW. Domestic content rules required the use of solar modules assembled in Algeria, as well as locally manufactured mounting structures and cables.

A new report analyzing 10 solar markets throughout Africa claims that the continent’s PV market could expand from about 5 GW at present to up to 30 GW by the end of the next decade.

The power line, under development by Italian transmission company Terna and Tunisian gas and electricity group STEG since 2003, was originally conceived to export power generated in Tunisia to Italy but is now based on an electricity exchange in the opposite direction.

At the end of December, the Algerian government issued a tender for off-grid gas/diesel and solar projects in non-interconnected areas in the south of the country.

Through the tender, the Algerian Government will select IPP solar projects with a capacity range of 10-50 MW. The projects, to be located in the southwestern part of the country, will be developed on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis. Domestic content rules require the use of solar modules assembled in Algeria, as well as locally manufactured mounting structures and cables.

The new tenders, which will be open to both domestic and international players, will select grid-connected IPP projects totaling 150 MW and off-grid hybrid gas/diesel and solar projects with a combined capacity of 50 MW.

Announcement of intent to deploy solar will not supplant the importance of fossil fuels to Algerian economy, states Sonatrach chief

In a conversation with pv magazine, Mouloud Bakli, president of the Algerian solar energy association, Club Energia (branch of FCE), says that multiple solar pipelines are set to be restarted by the Algerian government. Furthermore, two new tenders, for Independent Power Producer, and solar hybrid power, projects, will be issued by the end of Q2 2018. For all of these plans, local content requirement rules will apply. The existing local PV module industry, on the other hand, is expected to reach a combined annual capacity of 550 MW by the end of the year, while several manufacturers of mounting structures, cables, solar glass and junction boxes are already operating in the market.

Through the tender, the Algerian government aims to deploy 50 MW of renewable energy generation capacity in the south of the country – where local power utility, Sonelgaz is currently still relying on diesel generators for electricity production – and another 100 MW to 120 MW at other unspecified locations.

The Algerian manufacturer will distribute its modules mainly to the Algerian market, but also in other African countries, including Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin.