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“Tunisia Clean Energy in Buildings” mid-term Evaluation and Learning Exercise emphasises the importance of the private sector for achieving sectoral transformation

May 26, 2023
Two people installing solar PV in Tunisia
Image: © GIZ Tunisia

Tunisia Clean Energy in Buildings project aims to make rooftop solar PV affordable for middle-income households by decreasing the interest rate on investments in small rooftop solar PV systems. It supports the dissemination of best practices and improvements to the regulatory framework for scaling up the PROSOL ELEC PV support programmes in Tunisia.

During the period of September-October 2022, AMBERO and Oxford Policy Management undertook a mid-term Evaluation and Learning Exercise (ELE) on the progress of the project.

Below are some of the key findings of the ELE: 

  • Two major external factors impacted the project’s effectiveness. There have been delays due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the financial crisis Tunisia faces, amplified by the war in Ukraine. This led to increased macroeconomic imbalances in Tunisia and inflation. Both factors, but especially the changes in the financial conjuncture, resulted in the need for the project to restructure its FC Component.
  • The private sector can be a key driver of sectoral transformation. The commitment of Tunisian private PV installers and the private financial sector (Attijari Bank) to the objectives of the project are evident. The same is true for the households, increasingly impatient to see the project implemented to benefit from it.
  • Operational steering committees are crucial for the reinforcement of the coordination structures among project stakeholders. 

The following lessons learnt and recommendations were derived by the evaluators to ensure the success of the project:

  • Raising awareness and disseminating project information and benefits should be extended beyond the big cities in Tunisia. Dissemination channels should be diversified to target the beneficiaries who are not confident with digital communications or lack internet access.
  • In addition to the design and development of the MRV as part of the project, it is recommended to consider the economic value of GHG emissions reductions and study any link with the rules developed under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
  • It is recommended to reassess the possible financial benefits of the project in terms of additional installed capacity for the country and substitution of energy, especially given the shock on the global energy market due to the international tensions, which led to skyrocketing energy prices during the past year.

Following the main findings and recommendations of the ELE, the TSU and the project have compiled a management response to address the key points that were raised.

The management response and the full mid-term ELE report are available in the Knowledge & Learning Hub.

The Mitigation Action Facility is a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities (KEFM), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the European Union and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).