Seychelles launched a 5-megawatt solar PV plant on its Ile de Romainville Island. It was funded by the ADFD, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and was used to complete the project.
The island nation is likely to achieve its goal of 15% renewable energy by 2030 with the help of the solar plant.
The commemorative plaque was unveiled in Seychelles by Ahmed Afif, Vice President of Seychelles, and Khalifa Abdulla Al Qubaisi, deputy director general for ADFD.
The farm is located in the southern half of the island and contains approximately 15,000 PV panels spread over an area of nearly 50,000 square meters.
Flavien Joubert Minister for Environment as well as Climate Change and Energy said, “The 5 MW solar PV farm not only illustrates efforts in transforming our electricity system to keep global warming under 1.5degC but it’s also an excellent example of the successful partnership between Masdar, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and Public Utilities Corporation, CES – the contractor and the government of Seychelles.”
The concessional loan was $8.5 million and payable at a rate of 2% from ADFD.
PUC’s equity is used to fund the remaining $1.7mn, which brings the total cost of this project to $10.2mn.
The farm was inaugurated in April 2021, one month after Seychelles opened its borders to relaunch its tourism industry. This was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The solar farm, which has a fuel consumption of around 1.6 million litres per year, has generated the equivalent of approximately 2,000 homes’ energy since its commissioning.
