Energy
0

Energy Talks With Tunisia

Energy Talks With Tunisia
Energy Talks With Tunisia

Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian discussed expansion of energy ties with his Tunisian counterpart Mongi Marzouk in a meeting in Tehran on Saturday. “Power consumption is on the rise in Tunisia and this can help bolster economic relations with Iran,” Marzouk was quoted as saying by IRNA.

 “The North African country is planning to supply 30% of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030. We want to use Iran’s [electricity] equipment because of their quality.”

Marzouk added that the prospect of building power plants in Tunisia by Iranian contractors was one of the topics of talks on Saturday.

According to government officials, Iran exports close to $3 billion in technical and engineering services per year, more than 90% of which are earned by the power sector. Officials are targeting a tenfold rise in the power industry’s exports in the long run.

Chitchian also said the Tunisian minister will explore grounds for cooperation with some of the high-profile Iranian companies during his first-ever visit to the Iranian heartland.

“Iranian firms are ready to cooperate on upgrading Tunisia’s power plants, electricity generation from renewables, building combined-cycle plants and export of technical and engineering services,” he said. Iran has a long record in building overseas thermal power plants that burn gas or other fossil fuels as feedstock, but it has little to offer in the renewable energy sector.

The Middle East nation has a diverse climate of vast windy lands and more than 300 sunny days throughout the year that makes it ideal for producing electricity from wind and solar energies, but its total output from renewables does not exceed a few hundred megawatts.

Financialtribune.com