Eni inaugurated the construction of a 10-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant in Tataouine in southern Tunisia, the company announced Friday.
According to Eni's statement, the project will be carried out by a new joint venture between Eni and Tunisia's national oil company ETAP. The JV will focus exclusively on the production of energy from renewables.
'The plant, equipped with a solar tracking system capable of optimizing the energy produced, will provide the national grid with more than 20 gigawatt-hour of electricity per year, saving a total of about 260,000 tons of carbon dioxide during its planned 25 years of operation,' the press release added.
According to the statement, the project was awarded to the ETAP-Eni consortium following a public tender and will supply electricity to the state-owned company Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz (STEG).
Eni said it would also complete its construction of the Adam photovoltaic field in Tataouine this year, which will have a maximum installed capacity of 5 MW, and whose power will be used directly from the industrial site.
'The new site has been built with innovative hybrid and energy storage systems that will be integrated into the plant's existing turbines, reducing gas consumption, operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere,' the statement added.
Eni has been present in Tunisia since 1961 with its upstream operations concentrated in the southern desert areas and in the Mediterranean offshore. The company also manages the Transmed natural gas pipeline that connects Algeria to Italy through Tunisia and is also active in the country’s refining and marketing sector.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr