With three new EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) permit applications submitted to the Ministry of the Environment since mid-May, five requests for the creation of solar farms have been submitted this year. This type of project to produce electricity from renewable energy on behalf of the CEB is on the rise. This is part of the government's ambition to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity production to 60% by 2030. In 2022, Mauritius was at around 20%. For these five projects, the total investment exceeds Rs 5 billion.
An 8.09 MW farm from Les Moulins de la Concorde, Maurilait Production and Oceanarium Mauritius
Les Moulins de la Concorde Ltd, Maurilait Production Ltd and Oceanarium Mauritius Ltd are joining forces to create an 8.09 MW solar farm in Amaury, a village in the Rivière-du-Rempart district, on Alteo Ltd land. It will cover 18.2 hectares.
This photovoltaic farm will be made up of 17,056 bifacial solar panels manufactured by Jinko Solar with a capacity of 580 watts each with three “transform stations”. An agreement has already been signed with the CEB on December 8. The file, submitted in mid-May to the Ministry of the Environment, is awaiting an EIA permit.
A 16 MW farm managed by Tianli Spinning (Mauritius) Co. Ltd
According to the file submitted by Tianli Spinning (Mauritius) Co. Ltd to the Ministry of the Environment, the operator has signed two interconnection agreements with the CEB. The first for a supply of 4 MW and another for 12 MW to the CEB. The solar farm will therefore have a total capacity of 16 MW.
The Chinese developer, which owns one of the largest cotton mills in Mauritius, plans to build its solar farm in Petite-Rivière and hopes to be able to move into energy production in May 2025. This proposed photovoltaic farm will include a total of 27,144 panels photovoltaic systems and 49 inverters which will be installed on the 239,561 m² site.
The promoter “aims to contribute to the expansion of the use of renewable energies in Mauritius through the establishment of an industrial-scale solar farm in Petite-Rivière. The project is in line with the government's objective of promoting sustainable development by using renewable energy for electricity generation.
A 10 MW farm proposed by Avipro and Livestock Feed
Avipro Co Ltd enters into partnership with Livestock Feed Ltd for this project to build a 10 MW photovoltaic farm. The chosen site is a plot of land with an area of 17.70 hectares located in Amaury, just like for the project of Les Moulins de la Concorde, Maurilait Production and Oceanarium Mauritius.
Here too, the land belongs to Alteo Agri Ltd. It is leased to Avipro Co. Ltd (lead investor) with Livestock Feed Ltd (co-investor).
The promoters explain that “the CEB, through the Carbon Neutral Industrial Sector (CNIS) Renewable Energy Scheme, published a project proposal document last year for the submission of applications for renewable energy projects with a capacity greater than two megawatts (2 MW) as part of the CNIS renewable energy scheme. In this regard, Avipro Co. Ltd along with Livestock Feed Ltd (co-investor) signed an interconnection agreement for a photovoltaic solar generator with a capacity of 10 MWac/13.87 MWdc connected at a power of 22 KV with the CEB on December 8, 2023.”
The proposed PV farm will include a total of 23,920 JKM580N-72HL4-BDV N-type monocrystalline bifacial solar panels manufactured by Jinko Solar with a capacity of 580 W. The application for an EIA permit was submitted in mid-May.
10 MW in Plaine-des-Papayes by Corexsolar
Corexsolar International (Mauritius) Ltd, through SPV 10 MW Belle Vue 1 Ltd, is proposing the creation of a 10 MW photovoltaic farm to supply the CEB network. The chosen land is located in Bon-Air, Plaine-des-Papayes.
The Reunion developer plans to install 28,000 solar panels and 50 inverters there. He hopes to be able to start producing electricity by February 2024. The file was submitted at the end of February/beginning of March.
Stor'sun 3 Ltd offers 16.7 MW to Arsenal
Stor'sun 3, which belongs to the French firm Qair International, proposes a photovoltaic farm comprising a total of 29,764 photovoltaic panels and 75 inverters which will be installed on a site of 295,461.15 m².
The photovoltaic farm will be connected via a 22 kV transmission cable with a length of 1.2 km to a transformer, and then by a 66 kV line to the CEB Jin Fei substation. The project also includes 12 transformers.
The file was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment last February and the green light was obtained on April 25. Note that Qair International has already had authorization to build two photovoltaic farms in Trou-d'Eau-Douce for a total of 56.67 MW. The permits for these two infrastructures were approved on September 29.
