Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), including photovoltaic awnings or photovoltaic curtain walls, which replace the traditional construction elements of houses and buildings, represent a market niche for self-generation of renewable energy to be explored in Tunisia, experts said at the latest webinar held by the National Agency for Energy Management (ANME) this week. Thanks to an estimated 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, Tunisia could take advantage of this niche, which could help promote the self-production of renewable energy in Tunisia while ensuring both energy efficiency, aesthetics of buildings and eco-construction, said the experts at the meeting. However, the launch of projects in this field requires the preparation of an appropriate regulatory framework, the updating of the ANME's technical reference framework, which does not include projects for integrated PV in buildings, the commitment of the architecture and construction sectors to the same objective of energy efficiency and eco-construction, and the planning and anticipation of maintenance and upkeep techniques and machinery. Mohamed Ali Jnainia, deputy director said "PV integrated in buildings could be very interesting in Tunisia given several factors: the country's sunshine deposit, the price of PV modules, divided by 5 since 2010 and the increase in the electricity bill". "If architects had worked on building-integrated PV projects from the beginning, we would have won at least the air-conditioning prizes," says the expert. In Tunisia, only one building-integrated PV pilot project has been carried out, at the Centre National de Formation de Formateurs et d'Ingénierie de Formation (CENAFFIF) in Rades, as part of the Foster in Med project. This project, carried out within the framework of European cooperation, aims to promote the adoption of innovative photovoltaic technologies through a strategic approach in six Mediterranean countries: Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia. The technology could be used in domestic and industrial settings to produce part of the energy and reduce the cost of electricity consumption. The ANME webinar is part of a series of 'Positive Energy Weekly' webinars organised regularly by the Agency on topics related to energy management and renewable energy.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse