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China-Africa Trade Information Service
http://info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
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Mauritius is an island nation, which has no indigenous fossil-fuel energy reserves. However, the island nation’s ambitious plans to develop its power sector .
Mauritius is much concerned about energy security as it is heavily dependent on imported fuels. In its nationally determined contribution, the Government has committed to expand solar, wind and biomass energy production and other renewable energy sources and gradually shift towards the use of cleaner energy technologies, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), while modernising the grid. The target is to achieve 35% renewable energy by 2030.
This strategy encompasses institutional strengthening, developing the necessary regulatory framework and encouraging investment in renewable energy. A Utility Regulatory Authority (URA) has been set up and is working on licensing of operators and is expected to encourage fair competition in the electricity sector and ensure the sustainability and viability of the utility services.
The Home Solar project was launched in 2017 for the installation of 10,000 rooftop solar panels on the houses of families in the lowest income group. This project was selected by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development for financing, and was seen as having the potential to significantly transform the lives of people and alleviate poverty by bringing affordable energy to low-income communities. A Green Energy scheme has been launched for SMEs for the installation of 2,000 solar PV plants of 4 MW capacity. The Central Electricity Board has also invited bids for a waste to energy project and is planning to increase the capacity of its Sans Souci hydropower plant.
In 2016, around 22% (663 GWh) of the electricity was generated from renewable sources, mostly bagasse. The sugar industry has been facing many challenges. In order to face up to these challenges, the industry has undergone significant restructuring and focus is now being put on by-products of sugar cane and improved technology to increase efficiency and the use of cane trash for electricity generation.
In order to meet with increasing load demand from new customers and provide reliability and quality of supply to the existing customers, the Central Electricity Board (CEB) is investing heavily to upgrade its transmission and distribution infrastructure throughout the country and carry out undergrounding of its cables. The aim of the CEB is to achieve 50% of underground 22 kV and low voltage network by 2025. It has recently completed the redevelopment of the St Louis Power station with modern technology and convertible to LNG in the future.
It is planning to set up two gas turbines rated 35–40 MW each, in open cycle mode to be converted to LNG in the second phase of the project. The CCGT power plant will be rated between 105 and 120 MW on diesel fuel oil (DFO) and 120 to 140 MW on natural gas.
The financing situation is also very good. Financing is available through commercial banks and most renewable projects are in the commercial banking sector, and financed by local banks. The Agence Française de Développement introduced the SUNREF project, which involves providing local partner banks with longterm loans (green credit lines). These loans can be allocated on favourable terms on the basis of certain criteria (maturity of green financing market, type of investment, target client base).
The scheme also supports green investment financing by assisting banks in project financing and building the capacities of companies to implement strategies for an optimised use of energy and natural resources.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed with Italy, which is providing €2 for promoting renewable energy projects. The modalities and the list of projects are being discussed.
The Green Climate Fund has allocated a grant of $28m to Mauritius to finance strengthening of the grid to accommodate intermittent renewable energy and deploy solar PV in Agaléga. It will also reinforce the capacity of Marena and the URA.
