The French group Qair has signed four power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Central Electricity Board (CEB), Mauritius' electricity utility. The contracts are for the development of a combined 60 MWac of solar energy capacity with battery storage.
The energy transition is underway in Mauritius. The state-owned Central Electricity Board (CEB) has signed four power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Qair, a renewable energy producer based in Paris, France. The contracts cover the production of four solar power plants called “Stor’Sun (SS)” equipped with battery storage systems, with a combined capacity of 60 MWac in several locations.
In Trou d’Eau Douce on the east coast of the island, the Qair Group will install the SS1 and SS2 solar power plants. The SS3 park will be built in Balaclava in the northwest of the country. The other solar system (SS4) will be built in Petite-Rivière, a town just 7 km from Port-Louis, the capital of Mauritius. “This flexible and scalable technology allows for massive integration of renewable energy into the grid by shifting solar power generation to the evening peak demand, where traditional solar power plants do not produce,” says Qair.
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Through this portfolio of solar projects with battery storage, the group is thus contributing to the strategy of decarbonisation and diversification of the electricity mix implemented by the Mauritian authorities, aiming to produce 60% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The country, located off the coast of East Africa, produces most of its electricity from thermal power plants. The current energy crisis is driving up the price of fossil fuels. This is another argument for Mauritius to turn to renewable energy, especially solar power, which is less expensive to install.
The Qair Group, which is helping to implement this policy, will invest 7 billion Mauritian rupees (just over $151 million) in its four solar power plants, which are due to come on stream in 2024. Qair already operates three solar photovoltaic and wind farms with a combined capacity of 35 MW. The group founded by Jean-Marc Bouchet has built the first wind farm in Mauritius. The facility located in Plaines des Roches has a capacity of 9.3 MW.
Jean Marie Takouleu
