Algeria’s Electricity & Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG) says that only eight out of 93 companies requesting tender documents for solar projects with combined capacity of 150MW have submitted bids. The tender is for solar photovoltaic plants ranging from 10MW to 50MW in size to be built in four provinces: Biskra on the northern edge of the Sahara, and El Oued, Ghardaia and Ouargle further south.

CREG chairman Abdelkader Choual said the tender was aimed at local investors, alone or in partnerships, who may have had difficulty in preparing technical bids. Local content rules also require locally assembled solar modules along with locally manufactured racking and cables. (CONTINUED - 145 WORDS)