- Seychelles’ man-made island, Ile de Romainville, has officially inaugurated a 5-megawatt solar PV farm.
- The project is funded through a concessional loan of $8.5 million, payable at a 2 per cent interest rate, from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
On Monday, Seychelles’ man-made island, Ile de Romainville, officially inaugurated a 5-megawatt solar PV farm. This project will help the island nation achieve its 15 per cent renewable energy target by 2030. Seychelles’ Vice-President Ahmed Afif and the deputy director general of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Khalifa Abdulla Al Qubaisi, unveiled the commemorative plaque. The farm built on the island’s southern half comprises about 15,000 PV panels installed over an area of almost 50,000 square metres.
The Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Flavien Joubert, said, “The 5 MW PV Farm not only illustrates our commitment and effort in transforming our energy system to keep global warming below 1.5°C, but it is an excellent demonstration of the successful partnership between the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Masdar, PUC [Public Utilities Corporation], CES – the contractor, and the government of Seychelles”.
The project is funded through a concessional loan of $8.5 million, payable at a 2 per cent interest rate, from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). The remaining $1.7 million is funded from PUC’s own equity, bringing the project to a total of $10.2 million. Joubert noted that implementing the 5 MW PV farm has not come about so easily for all parties, particularly the contractor and the project management team. The minister said this would reduce approximately 5,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Although small, it makes a difference to PUC and Seychelles regarding cost savings and environmental protection.