Kairouan Solar Power Station

The Kairouan Power Station, also Kairouan Solar Park 3, is a 120 MW solar power plant under development in Tunisia. The power station is owned and under development by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company, under the public private partnership (PPP) arrangement. The lead investor is Amea Power, an independent power producer (IPP), based in the United Arab Emirates.

Location
The power station is located in the neighborhood called Metbassta, in Kairouan Governorate in northeastern Tunisia. This is approximately 15.5 km northeast of Kairouan, the regional capital.

Overview
The power station design calls for a ground-mounted solar project sitting on 200 ha. It comprises 220,416 modules, each with capacity of 545W, capable of generating 120 megawatts at maximum output. It is expected that 16 inverters will be required to energize the power station.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed by the SPV company and the off-taker, Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz (STEG). The 20-year PPA governs the sale and purchase of 100 MW of electricity at $0.028 per 1kWh.

Developers
The power station is under development by a joint venture SPV company which is called Kairouan Solar Plant. The shareholding in the SPV is as depicted in the table below.

Construction costs
As of 5 January 2023, to total cost of construction was estimated at US$100 million. But that was for a plant with maximum output of 100 MW. By the time financial close was achieved in September 2023, the generation capacity had been increased to 120 MW. The project entered the construction phase after achieving financial close in September 2023.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to a joint venture between China Energy Engineering Group, Tianjin Electric Power Construction and Northwest Electric Power Design Institute. Construction is expected to commence in Q4 2023 and commercial commissioning is expected in Q3 2024.

Funding
The table below illustrates the sources of funding for the Kairouan Solar Power Station.