Algeria plans to export power surplus

Algeria power expansion adds 2,543 MW as Sonelgaz invests, meeting 6% demand growth, boosting renewables like wind and solar, and advancing grid interconnection to Morocco and Spain via a 400 kV submarine cable.

A report from Algeria's Ministry of Energy and Mines indicates that the installed capacity of electricity generation in the country will increase from the current 10,230 megawatts MW to 12,771 MW by 2012.

Thirteen power stations with a combined capacity of 2,543 MW will be completed in the next two years, aligning with Egypt's grid push initiatives across North Africa. This power addition will meet the 6 annual growth rate for electricity demand and will put the country in a position to export the surplus to neighboring countries, where Tunisia boosts gas for power to address rising consumption.

Sonelgaz, Algeria's state-owned gas and electricity utility, pledged to continue investments to refurbish the network. The company's investments will be more than $46 billion through 2020, including about $3.3 billion this year for plant development and the national grid, echoing Egypt's $22.2b power plan underway regionally.

Sonelgaz plans to diversify sources of electricity generation by implementing wind and solar energy, which will also allow surplus electricity to be exported to Europe via strengthened interconnections such as the Malta-Sicily interconnection receiving EU support.

Morocco and Spain have had interconnected grids since August 1997 via a 26-kilometer, 400-kilovolt kV cable, while Egypt invests $2.84b to expand capacity on its network. Another study is being conducted to establish a new submarine 400-kV cable to interconnect the Algerian grid to the Moroccan grid, enabling open access to Spain for interconnection and increasing the possibility of power capacity exchange between Morocco, Spain and Algeria, according to "SPA" news.

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