QUICK SUMMARY
- Seychelles Background
- Walk towards Renewables
- The Goal
ARTICLE
Seychelles Background
The Seychelles Islands are an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean on the eastern side of Africa. The main inhabited islands are La Digue, Mahe and Praslin which are the main contributors to the energy consumption of the republic. The population, as of 2020, was 98,340 [9] and a projected population of 102,538 [10]. With a projected population growth of only 4.27% over the next decade, we can see that they have less urgency to act upon rural electrification to Madagascar. Nonetheless, there is still a lot of room for improvement for the island republic.
As of 2017, the total energy supply was 99% from oil and 1% from renewable technologies. Of this 1% renewable technologies; 40% was from bioenergy, 24% from solar and 36% from wind. Only 1% of the total energy supply coming from renewable technologies is something that cannot be overlook as it highlights the heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels – the Seychelles islands are energy import reliant nation. From the period of 2012-2017, there has been a 32.2% increase in total renewable energy supply, however, there was also an increase of 40.8% in non-renewable total energy supply [11].
Sychelles for Renewables
In 2019, the installed capacity of renewable technologies was only 8% of the energy portfolio. Of this 8%, solar contributed to 37% and wind technologies contributed to 63%. However, renewable capacity grew by 36% from 2014 to 2019 although non-renewable capacity also grew by 29%. According to the Kyoto Protocol Seychelles are performing worse in adapting to the imminent threats of climate change. They have no obligation to reduce their emissions as they do not have a significant impact on global C02 emissions [12].
In 2010, the Seychelles government created their Proposal for Energy Policy of the Republic of Seychelles, 2010 – 2030. This bore the Seychelles Energy Commission, 2010 and introduced tax exemptions for renewable equipment. The 2010 legislations were replaced with the Energy Act of 2012 as a legislative means to implement more renewable technologies. The Energy Act, 2012, implemented legislation regarding feed-in tariffs, fiscal incentives and reaffirmed the republic’s goal:
Sychelles Goal
- 5% renewable energy supply by 2020
- 15% renewable energy supply by 2030
- 100% renewable energy supply by 2050
Seychelles is currently working towards installation of a 5.8-MW floating solar array. This will be the first of its kind in Africa. It will be supported by French independent power producer (IPP), Qair who plans to launch the installation. Due to the global pandemic induced by Covid-19, the working schedule has been altered as works were meant to begin in July 2020 [13].
REFERENCES
[9] – Population of Seychelles 2020 – PopulationPyramid.net
[10] – Population of Seychelles 2030 – PopulationPyramid.net
[11] – Seychelles_Africa_RE_SP.pdf (irena.org)
[12] – viewdocument (investinseychelles.com)
[13] – Work on Qair’s 5.8-MW Seychelles floating PV park to start in July (renewablesnow.com)
