By: OrePulse

Algeria plans to bring online the remaining 2,440 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar capacity from the first phase of its national renewable energy program in 2027, Energy and Renewable Energies Minister Mourad Adjal told the National People's Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, as lawmakers reviewed the 2027 Finance Bill.

The first phase of the program covers 3,200 MW of solar generation spread across 21 plants in 14 wilayas, Adjal said. Of that total, 760 MWp had already entered service at the time of his remarks, leaving 2,440 MWp, the bulk of the phase, to be completed next year. The additional capacity is meant to raise clean electricity output and cut reliance on natural gas at conventional power plants, the minister said, as part of a wider energy-transition strategy focused on diversifying generation sources, improving efficiency, conserving resources and securing long-term supply. Algeria's broader national renewable energy program targets 15,000 MW of grid-connected capacity by 2035, according to data compiled by a Washington-based specialized energy information platform.

Beyond the grid-connected plants, Adjal outlined a set of smaller off-grid and public-sector solar projects: electrifying more than 2,500 isolated homes, installing 100 solar-powered water-pumping systems for farms, and fitting 1,000 solar systems on the rooftops of buildings and public facilities. These projects, he said, are designed for sites that need different electrification arrangements and would cut dependence on conventional energy in some uses. They form a smaller, decentralized component alongside the grid-connected solar plants within the same national program.

On financing, Adjal said state utility group Sonelgaz plans to invest about 624 billion Algerian dinars ($4.64 billion) in energy facilities in 2027. The Energy and Renewable Energies Ministry has also proposed allocating 24.06 billion dinars ($179 million) within the sector's 2027 budget to its energy-control and new-and-renewable-energies program, covering programs to rationalize energy consumption and develop renewable sources, alongside completion of radiopharmaceutical production projects. Separately, the 2027 Finance Bill proposes raising the tax-deduction rate on spending for green hydrogen and renewable energy infrastructure to 10 percent.

Adjal also addressed green hydrogen, calling implementation of the national hydrogen strategy a priority across the full value chain, including regulatory and institutional frameworks, workforce development and stronger industrial integration. He pointed to the SoutH2 corridor, which would link Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Austria and Germany, as a strategic element of Euro-Mediterranean energy integration. Studies are also under way on producing green ammonia at the Arzew refinery and on a sustainable aviation fuel project, he said.

The minister additionally announced plans to strengthen electrical interconnection between the northern and southern Mediterranean, which he said would allow Algeria to export clean electricity and integrate into regional power markets. Preparatory studies for wind power are proceeding alongside the solar build-out, and the ministry is examining the potential of geothermal, biomass and hydroelectric sources, Adjal said. He did not give a timeline for completing those studies or for the Mediterranean interconnection project.