Log in
Faced with the dangers of global warming caused by fossil fuels (especially oil and gas), the world is increasingly turning to clean, renewable energies, because they are environmentally friendly, as they reduce carbon emissions that are polluting both the air and oceans. So the countries of the world, especially the industrialized nations, whose industries consume a lot of energy, are banking on green hydrogen, produced using the triad of water, solar energy and wind turbines installed over vast areas. The problem is that these countries are still unable to supply it in large quantities, either because of their climatic conditions (rarely sunny) or limited surface area, or for environmental reasons linked to their national and international obligations.
Tunisia, which enjoys long months of sunshine and plenty of wind, especially in the south, but suffers from a serious lack of water, the risks of which are increasing with continual years of drought, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)at the end of May (2024) with the French conglomerate “Total Energie” and the Austrian complex “Verbund” to implement a vast project for the production of green hydrogen in our country then export it through pipelines to Europe for an initial investment value of around 20 billion dinars ($ 6. 9 billion) and 132 billion dinars ($ 47 billion) by 2050.
Environmental impact
The official Tunisian discourse, which embarked on a vast explanatory campaign on the positive aspects of the memorandum, focusing on the importance of alternative energy in the future, the place of exports in the economy and the capacity of the project to create jobs, failed to mention the social and environmental impacts that could be caused by the implementation of such mega-project ,a project ,it should be remembered , that is carried out without any societal dialogue that would include an in-depth study to evaluate economic and social repercussions (opinions of independent experts, politicians, civil society).
Only 20% for national use
The aim of the project is to produce green hydrogen from seawater - after desalination - in addition to using solar and wind panels, at a rate of 200,000 tonnes per year, to reach 8 million tonnes by 2050. However, only twenty per cent (20%)of the production will be devoted to the country’s needs.
The rest will be exported to European countries, whose environmental obligations combined with Russia’s war on Ukraine have prompted them to adopt alternative plans, including the REPower EU plan, which aims to “reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels”. The EU intends to establish strategic “cooperation” with other partners to obtain green energy and, in March 2022, the European Commission “set out a plan to make Europe completely independent of Russian fossil fuels, before 2030.” Of course, with its proximity to North Africa and the large opportunities here of renewable resources, Europe sees its future dependence on the region as vital.
However, independent experts and environmental activists are skeptical about such a project. First, no thorough study has been conducted to assess the benefits and risks given the magnitude of this initiative. Second, the project is not meant to meet an urgent national need (to overcome the Tunisian large energy deficit), it is rather meant to serve European interests at the expense of the Tunisian environment.
And here, it is not so much about a claim of sovereignty, or “exclusive nationalism”, as it has been daily preached by the government, it is rather about striking a balance between national and bilateral interests that any cooperation requires and assessing the project’s compatibility with our needs and priorities through studying the balance of profits and losses.
Depletion of water
For instance, experts confirm that green hydrogen, despite its cleanliness as an energy source, consumes large quantities of desalinated seawater, and the (Tunisian) National Water Observatory has estimated that the project will deplete a large percentage of the Tunisian hydraulic resources, equivalent to half the quantity of Tunisia’s water stored in dams. So, our need to desalinate seawater for drinking, use and even agriculture is more urgent than our need to export energy to countries that consult their needs first, plan second and then study the benefits and risks of any decision.
In fact, the emphasis on exporting energy, without taking into account the priority of the local national interest, is a repetition of the same old exploitative economic relations which have always been based on satisfying the needs of the countries of the North, without taking into account the priority of the interest of the country and the local population, sometimes at their expense.
Social and environmental obstacles
When it comes to green hydrogen projects, one of the most important pillars, in addition to water and solar energy, is the size of the surface area required for its installation, explains Aida Delbouch, a journalist specialising in the environment: “For example, a Frankfurt-Tunisia flight using green hydrogen consumes one gigawatt of renewable electricity, which represents a surface area of 1,500 to 1,800 hectares of solar panels, a large surface area that needs to be redistributed for this use.”
Tunisian researcher and expert, Saber Ammar, points out that the MOU considers a surface area of 500,000 hectares for the production of green hydrogen, which raises the question of land ownership, i.e. how the Tunisian government will treat the population in the areas concerned, and if there will be adequate compensation for the landowners.
Previous experiences
The study carried out by Inkyfada, an independent, Tunis base media group, on the renewable energy projects in Sekdoud, in the governorate of Gafsa(south of Tunis), and Bourj Salhi, in the governorate of Nabeul(north east), shows that these projects have given rise to a great deal of controversy and even “bitterness” among the local population: “In addition to expropriation of their land and resources, they have benefited nothing from the projects and the promised jobs have remained a mirage’. “Before the wind turbines were installed, one local resident told the two journalists, our land had value, but now it’s worth nothing.”
Such changes in people’s lives remind me of the film “The Hyena’s Sun ‘’ by Tunisian director, Ridha El Bahi, where a coastal village lives peacefully from fishing and achieves self-sufficiency for its inhabitants until German businessmen arrive and, with the recommendation of the local authorities, transforming the beaches into tourist hotels, turning the lives of the villagers from calm, warmth and tranquility into turmoil, and the citizens abandoned their traditional jobs and trades to turn to serving foreign tourists. .. The film was made 47 years ago, but it seems that we are still in the same situation.
A word to the wise
It is true that green hydrogen represents an alternative with sustainable characteristics and a clean source of energy, but its importance is not linked to its value alone, nor to the financial returns that flow from its export, but rather to an in-depth study of its place in energy, now and in the futures, its added value internally and the national group’s conviction of its feasibility and its acceptance by the local population. Said Zied Boussen, Tunisia research fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative, “For green hydrogen to be true to its potential as a clean energy, there needs to be a clear discussion around its potential social and environmental costs for Tunisia and such a discussion should involve a much wider segment of stakeholders than what we have seen so far.” Well, a word to the wise should be enough!!!
Messaoud Romdhani is a Tunisian HR activist
