Wind Energy Country Analyses Tunisia

Framework conditions for wind energy

Political Goals

Higher use of wind energy has been declared a primary goal of Tunisia’s energy development programme since 2001. In the framework of the 10th development plan, the Tunisian government has committed itself to the construction of 120 MW until 2007. This aim has not been reached yet.

Several organisations conducted, financed or promoted measurements to find possible sites for wind farms in Tunisia:

• Tunisian Society for Electricity and Gas (Société Tunisenne d'Electicité et du Gaz - STEG)
• German Society for International Cooperation (Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ)
• Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (Agencia Espanola de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarollo - AECID)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Wind energy potential

Regions with high wind energy potential can mainly be found in the northern part of Tunisia, but also in central and southern regions. In northern and north-eastern areas, wind measurements revealed wind speeds between 7 and 10 m/s. 

For example, at the Jebel Sidi Abderrahmane location in the region of Cap Bon (the peninsula in the Northwest of Tunesia close to L’Ariana), where STEG measured average wind speeds of over 10 m/s at a height of 45 m. In the region of Bizerte and Nabeul (on the southern coast of the peninsula in the Northwest of Tunesia) as well as in the central area and the Kaserine south (Tataouine, Medenine, Gabes) wind speeds exceed 7 m /sec at 60 m height (e.g. at Metline (on the northern coast close to Bizerte) with an average of 9 m /s at a height of 30 m).