A report by Oxford Business Group published on september 30th,2009.
Tunisia: Better Connected
Two recently announced projects are set to upgrade Tunisia's electricity transmission network, while further improving grid integration between Europe and the Maghreb.
Tunisia's recent strong growth has, according to IMF figures, seen its economy double in size over the past decade - from around €13.7bn at current prices in 1998 to €27.7bn last year. This major increase – much of it prompted by Tunisia's growing integration into European markets – has placed a significant strain on the nation's energy infrastructure.
To meet the growing needs of Tunisian industry, tourism and individual consumers, the African Development Bank (AfDB) agreed on September 2 to a €45.6m loan for the rehabilitation and restructuring of the national grid. The loan is intended to upgrade medium and low tension networks operated by the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Network (STEG), with the intention of creating "a more reliable and safer electricity distribution network", which will, according to the AfDB, "increase the quantity of energy sold and its turnover, and improve the safety of workers and third parties".
According to information released by the bank, current demand growth of 5% a year has led to a "saturation" of the existing network, with some existing plants and installations no longer capable of carrying the additional load. This has led to overloads, losses and high-voltage drops "sometimes in excess of 20%" - twice STEG's contractual limit of 10% for the low-voltage network, and almost three-times that of the 7% limit for the medium-voltage network. Upgrading work is planned to take place in all of Tunisia's governorates.
As well as upgrading the internal transmission network, Tunisia's expanding ties with the European economy has led to the almost simultaneous announcement of a plan to integrate the national grid with that of Italy. The €2.09bn project, a joint-venture between STEG and Italy's electricity transportation company, will see a 200-km long 1000-MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cable link the two Mediterranean nations via El Hawaria in Tunisia and Partanna in Sicily. A 1200-MW plant is also due to be built in Tunisia as part of the deal, which will provide Tunisia with 400 MW of energy, with the remainder expected to be transmitted through the cable to Italy. The cable flow, however, will be bidirectional, thus connecting the Tunisian grid with the rest of Western Europe.
The plan to connect Tunisia with Italy falls under a wider Euro-Med strategy to integrate the electricity and energy networks of Europe with the oil- and gas-rich Maghreb. Due to its geographical proximity to Algeria and Tunisia, Italy is proving the natural lynchpin of this strategy, with the existing Transmed gas pipeline linking it with Algeria due to be augmented next year by the planned Galsi pipeline. When pipelines to Spain are also included, gas capacity between Algeria and Europe will rise to 62bn cu metres a year within the next five years.
With supplies of gas from Russia proving volatile, it makes sense for Europe to increase its supply of Algerian gas. When it comes to off-shoring generation capacity however, the Tunisian project may well also prove to be a sign of things to come. The €400bn Desertec project, formally launched in July by German reinsurers Munich Re, foresees using North Africa's deserts to power Europe's economies. The scheme, originally a Club of Rome white paper sponsored by Jordan's Prince Hassan bin Talal, proposes the use of concentrated solar plants in the Sahara (whereby mirrors reflect the sun's rays onto a water column that powers a steam turbine, as opposed to photovoltaic cells). The electricity thus generated is then channelled to Europe via HVDC submarine cables.
Industry figures and energy analysts are currently divided as to whether Desertec offers a viable long-term, low-impact solution to Europe's energy needs. To begin with, it is estimated that up to 20 HVDC cables would be required, each costing in the order of the proposed Tunisia-Italy cable. A significant cost element in the construction of such cables – including the Tunisia-Italy cable – is the infrastructure required at either end to convert the flow from alternating current to direct current and back again (DC suffers lower degradation over long distances than AC). Given such cost concerns, the Tunisian government will no doubt hope that the expertise it will gain from the El Hawaria project will give it a competitive advantage to host more such cables, if, and indeed when, they are required.
Tunisia: Better Connected
Two recently announced projects are set to upgrade Tunisia's electricity transmission network, while further improving grid integration between Europe and the Maghreb.
Tunisia's recent strong growth has, according to IMF figures, seen its economy double in size over the past decade - from around €13.7bn at current prices in 1998 to €27.7bn last year. This major increase – much of it prompted by Tunisia's growing integration into European markets – has placed a significant strain on the nation's energy infrastructure.
To meet the growing needs of Tunisian industry, tourism and individual consumers, the African Development Bank (AfDB) agreed on September 2 to a €45.6m loan for the rehabilitation and restructuring of the national grid. The loan is intended to upgrade medium and low tension networks operated by the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Network (STEG), with the intention of creating "a more reliable and safer electricity distribution network", which will, according to the AfDB, "increase the quantity of energy sold and its turnover, and improve the safety of workers and third parties".
According to information released by the bank, current demand growth of 5% a year has led to a "saturation" of the existing network, with some existing plants and installations no longer capable of carrying the additional load. This has led to overloads, losses and high-voltage drops "sometimes in excess of 20%" - twice STEG's contractual limit of 10% for the low-voltage network, and almost three-times that of the 7% limit for the medium-voltage network. Upgrading work is planned to take place in all of Tunisia's governorates.

As well as upgrading the internal transmission network, Tunisia's expanding ties with the European economy has led to the almost simultaneous announcement of a plan to integrate the national grid with that of Italy. The €2.09bn project, a joint-venture between STEG and Italy's electricity transportation company, will see a 200-km long 1000-MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cable link the two Mediterranean nations via El Hawaria in Tunisia and Partanna in Sicily. A 1200-MW plant is also due to be built in Tunisia as part of the deal, which will provide Tunisia with 400 MW of energy, with the remainder expected to be transmitted through the cable to Italy. The cable flow, however, will be bidirectional, thus connecting the Tunisian grid with the rest of Western Europe.
The plan to connect Tunisia with Italy falls under a wider Euro-Med strategy to integrate the electricity and energy networks of Europe with the oil- and gas-rich Maghreb. Due to its geographical proximity to Algeria and Tunisia, Italy is proving the natural lynchpin of this strategy, with the existing Transmed gas pipeline linking it with Algeria due to be augmented next year by the planned Galsi pipeline. When pipelines to Spain are also included, gas capacity between Algeria and Europe will rise to 62bn cu metres a year within the next five years.
With supplies of gas from Russia proving volatile, it makes sense for Europe to increase its supply of Algerian gas. When it comes to off-shoring generation capacity however, the Tunisian project may well also prove to be a sign of things to come. The €400bn Desertec project, formally launched in July by German reinsurers Munich Re, foresees using North Africa's deserts to power Europe's economies. The scheme, originally a Club of Rome white paper sponsored by Jordan's Prince Hassan bin Talal, proposes the use of concentrated solar plants in the Sahara (whereby mirrors reflect the sun's rays onto a water column that powers a steam turbine, as opposed to photovoltaic cells). The electricity thus generated is then channelled to Europe via HVDC submarine cables.
Industry figures and energy analysts are currently divided as to whether Desertec offers a viable long-term, low-impact solution to Europe's energy needs. To begin with, it is estimated that up to 20 HVDC cables would be required, each costing in the order of the proposed Tunisia-Italy cable. A significant cost element in the construction of such cables – including the Tunisia-Italy cable – is the infrastructure required at either end to convert the flow from alternating current to direct current and back again (DC suffers lower degradation over long distances than AC). Given such cost concerns, the Tunisian government will no doubt hope that the expertise it will gain from the El Hawaria project will give it a competitive advantage to host more such cables, if, and indeed when, they are required.





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