Tunisia: what is the energy transition about?

The energy transition, namely, the structural change of the current energy system, from a system based on the use of non-renewable energy resources, towards an energy system using mainly renewable resources, represents a real national and international issue.

Most Maghreb countries are aiming at a gradual increase of renewable energy in their energy mix. Algeria and Morocco are investing in renewable energy, while Tunisia is following with a smaller scale. However, this energy transition is described as blocked in Tunisia, since various initiatives and planned public policies to accelerate the energy transition over the past decades have failed to ensure the expansion of the renewable energy sector in the country.

On the European side, efforts have been made to expand renewable energy production beyond its borders. Major projects such as Medgrid, the Mediterranean Solar Plan or the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii), aim to exploit the Saharan desert to produce large volumes of solar energy to be exported to the European Union.

In addition, there is an increase in the global trend towards investment in renewable energy, due on one hand to the increased interest and commitment of international donors, financial institutions and private investors to renewable energy projects and on the other hand to the climate emergency and the negative impact of climate change on the availability of energy resources.

In this general context, we propose in this paper to have an overview of the national energy transition and to analyze the different levels of its blockage while proposing some recommendations.