A new solar photovoltaic plant will be built in Mauritius. This is the aim of an agreement signed recently between GreenYellow, the subsidiary of the French group Casino and Central Electricity Board (CEB), the entity that manages electricity in Mauritius. The solar park will be built in Arsenal, a town in the north of the island. The facility will have a capacity of 13.86 MWp, making it one of the largest installations of its kind on the island.
GreenYellow Indian Ocean plans to deliver the solar plant in 2023. The park will then be able to produce 22 GWh of electricity per year, which will diversify Mauritius’ electricity mix. Moreover, the CEB places this project within the framework of the Mauritian government’s strategy to produce 60% of its electricity from renewable sources.
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Currently, Mauritius has an installed capacity of 876 MW, of which 498 MW is produced by CEB and the rest by independent power producers (IPPs). Most of the electricity consumed in Mauritius is generated by oil and coal-fired power plants according to the CEB. The country also has hydroelectric facilities capable of producing 60 MW, or 4% of its electricity mix.
To reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, the CEB recently launched a tender for the construction of two 140 MWp solar photovoltaic plants with storage. These projects will be developed entirely by independent power producers (IPPs) in order to connect the future plants to the national grid of Mauritius.
Jean Marie Takouleu