Introduction :
Solar thermal technologies have been developed for over thirty years and have now reached a stage of maturity. In parallel, Tunisia has experienced an exemplary evolution of the solar thermal market since the 1980s, with programs implemented by the National Agency for Energy Conservation, with the support of the Ministry in charge of Energy, such as the PROSOL program.
Indeed, Tunisia benefits from an abundant and generous solar resource, varying from 1,700 kWh/m².year in the northeast to about 2,500 kWh/m².year in the south of global radiation and the potential for using thermal energy, across all sectors, more than 4 million m² of solar collectors.
The national objective is to reach about 3 million m² of solar collectors by 2030, including 350 million m² in the Tertiary and Industrial sectors.
Development of the PROSOL program in the industrial sector:
The national and international energy context, characterized by significant successive increases in the price of a barrel of oil, has made energy a key determinant of the sustainability of growth in various industrial sectors and their international competitiveness.
To this end, a pragmatic approach to the use of solar thermal energy in the industrial sector has been implemented. This approach is based on the need to accelerate the mobilization of the potential of this sector, taking full advantage of the institutional, regulatory, and incentive tools put in place to create a permanent dynamic for the use of solar thermal energy in the industrial sector.
PROSOL in the industrial sector consists of promoting collective solar thermal installations in the sector, through the implementation of an attractive financial mechanism, the strengthening of local know-how in this field, the mobilization of international expertise, and the development of awareness-raising actions aimed at all establishments and companies belonging to the industrial sector.
Indeed, the success of PROSOL residential, which led to a real change in the solar water heating market throughout the country, led the public authorities to launch, since 2009, an incentive mechanism targeting the industrial sector and named PROSOL Industrial.