Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) Supporting the Tunisian Solar Plan

Duration: 6 years:  January 2015 – January 2021

Funding: GEF

Implementing partners: ANME – UNDP

In order to face its energy challenges, Tunisia has embarked on an energy transition strategy based on increasing energy efficiency and the large-scale development of renewable energy sources, particularly in the field of electricity generation.

In this context, the Tunisian Solar Plan (Plan Solaire Tunisien – PST) reflects this ambitious national strategy through its aim to increase the renewable energy (wind, solar PV and CSP) share of total power generation in 2030, to 30%.

The objective of the ‘NAMA PST’ (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions – Tunisian Solar Plan) project is to support the Tunisian government in developing Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) for the PST through strengthening institutional frameworks and establishing a favourable and encouraging environment for promoting the investments necessary for the PST to be fully implemented.  The NAMA should also enable greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced in a verifiable and transparent manner. The NAMA will thereby help to change the scale of renewable energy development programmes, and support the energy transition policy.

Key Achievements

• Design and development of the NAMA PST and an action plan that combines the technical, regulatory, organizational and financial measures necessary to raise barriers and facilitate putting the PST into operation.
• Proposal for the main components of a measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and co-benefits in terms of sustainable development.
• Undertaking technical assistance and capacity building for the benefit of institutions involved in the PST in particular, and the energy transition in general.
• Undertaking the process of restructuring and setting in operation the Energy Transition Fund (Fonds de Transition Energétique – FTE), with new institutional arrangements for better governance of the Fund.
• Undertaking the process of setting up an independent regulatory authority for the electricity sector.
• Supporting the organization of two national conferences, as part of government initiatives for economic growth and employment. The first conference (7-8 December 2017) focused on speeding up development of renewable energy power generation projects; the second conference (5-6 April 2018) on hastening the implementation of energy efficiency programmes. These two conferences resulted in the preparation of two action plans for progressing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

In February 2018, the action plan for accelerating renewable energy projects in Tunisia for the period 2020-2025 was approved by the ministerial council.

• Completion of the first phase of the National Low Carbon Strategy (Stratégie Nationale Bas Carbone – SNBC) to 2050, for the energy sector, relating to the development of socio-economic and energy scenario forecasts. The second phase, on finalizing the wording of the energy sector SNBC, is currently being undertaken.
• Establishment of an ANME Help Desk, dedicated to those bodies, private and public, seeking support for putting the PST into action.
• Supporting the structural, organizational and financial management reforms at the ANME.
• Supporting hastening implementation of wind power projects under the franchise regime, by conducting a wind measurement study at the two sites of Jbel Abderrahmen and Jbel Tbaga for a total capacity of 300 MW.
• Undertaking development of a renewable energy code and ensuring the consistency of relevant legislation.