Tunisia's push to expand solar energy is hitting political resistance. Five solar concessions totaling 598 megawatts and $560 million in investment were submitted to parliament in January. Critics say the contracts hand electricity production to foreign multinationals while the state utility STEG becomes a grid operator. Unions and the Tunisian Economic Observatory argue the model shifts infrastructure costs to the public and sends profits abroad. A major flashpoint is carbon credit ownership. The observatory reports the credits from emissions cuts on Tunisian territory could be transferred to developers instead of staying a public asset. That concern drove strikes last year and remains unresolved. Supporters of a different transition want public control, technology transfer, and domestic industrial capacity over foreign ownership. The energy deficit is real with 73 percent of Tunisia's energy coming from petroleum products. But critics say the current strategy ignores transport sector reform and energy efficiency. The core dispute is not whether Tunisia should transition, but who controls the terms.
