Algeria’s photovoltaic capacity exceeds 436.8 MW – pv magazine International

September 10, 2024 Gwenénaelle Deboutte

The Algerian Commission for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CEREFE) has published the latest statistics on the renewable energy sector in Algeria.

By the end of 2023, Algeria’s total renewable energy capacity reached 600.9 MW, which includes hydroelectric power. Without hydroelectric power, the total capacity was 472 MW, including 47.85 MW from off-grid sources.

Solar energy leads in renewable energy production, with a capacity of 436.8 MW. About 388.95 MW (82.4%) of the total photovoltaic power is connected to the grid, while 47.85 MW (10.1%) is off-grid.

Solar developers installed 11.17 MW of new capacity in 2023, up 2.4% from the end of 2022. Only 1.54 MW of that capacity was connected to the grid, up 0.36% from December 2022. The majority of the new capacity, around 1.25 MW, went to solar systems for schools, adding 208 systems and bringing the total number of schools powered by solar to 1,163.

Newly installed capacity was mostly off-grid in 2023, totaling 9.63 MW. This includes 5.28 MW for public solar lighting and 3.73 MW for PV arrays for isolated areas. Some 1,098 arrays were distributed in 2023.

The Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM), through national utility Sonelgaz, has provisionally awarded contracts in 2023 for two major projects with a combined capacity of 3 GW. The 2 GW project will involve 15 solar panels in 12 provinces, with capacities ranging from 80 MW to 220 MW each. The 1 GW project will involve five photovoltaic power plants with capacities ranging from 50 MW to 300 MW. MEM will sign contracts with the winning companies in March 2024.

MEM also announced a tender for a 200 MW solar power plant with energy storage in the Ghar Djebilet region of Tindouf to support an iron ore mining project currently under development.

With the construction of 21 solar power plants with a total capacity of 3.2 GW, the total installed renewable energy capacity in Algeria could soon exceed 4 GW.

This growth has spurred the creation of several Algerian companies in the PV sector. By the end of 2023, Algeria had six PV module assembly plants with an annual production capacity of 469 MW, an increase of 123 MW compared to 2022.

The industrial sector also includes two battery factories, two solar water heater factories, two solar cable manufacturers and four PV mounting systems and structures plants. In 2023, the country also inaugurated three new solar public lighting production units.

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