An ambitious project is under development to import solar energy from Tunisia to the UK and other European destinations.
The TuNur project, a partnership between British investor Low Carbon, Nur Energy and Tunisian investors, is hoping to win a contract from the British government.
An Italian network operator is on board to connect a dedicated undersea cable to a substation near Rome which will connect the European grid.
The concept is to concentrate solar power so it can be stored, dispatched and switched on and off according to demand.
The electricity supplies, the company says, will be 20% less expensive than national sources, such as wind power or nuclear.
Recent British regulations now permit renewable energy developers who are based outside the UK to gain British contracts. Tunisian legislation now allows the export of such energy.
While the UK government had given no signal about the project, it has said it must compete on cost effectiveness with UK projects as well as providing energy exclusively for the UK.
Other projects of this nature have failed. A German initiative to produce solar energy in North Africa, enough to power 15% of Europe’s needs by 2050, could not obtain enough funding.
