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UK-based Spectrum Geo is to carry out a 2D multi-client seismic survey over the Mascarene Plateau area jointly managed by Seychelles and Mauritius. The Seychelles News Agency quoted PetroSeychelles chief executive Patrick Joseph as saying both countries wanted to exploit potential resources in their Joint Management Area (JMA). “To achieve this, we need to know what is there.

French developer Akuo Energy on 5 July announced the start of construction at the 17.5MW Henrietta solar plant. The plant is being developed by Akuo through its subsidiary Akuo Energy Mauritius alongside local partner Medine Ltd and is expected online in November.Henrietta was awarded to Akuo and Medine following a tender by the Central Electricity Board (CEB) in 2016. The plant will use 53,700 photovoltaic panels supplied by China’s Jinko Solar coupled with ABB inverters and is expected to generate 27GWh/yr, equivalent to avoiding 21,516 t/yr of CO2 emissions.

The Central Electricity Board (CEB) in June 2017 issued a request for information (RFI) from potential natural gas suppliers to power a 105MW-120MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant; the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import unit would be sited at Les Grandes Salines in the Port Louis harbour area. Mauritius Ports Authority had previously hired the Netherlands’ Royal HaskoningDHV to study possibilities for developing Port Louis as a bunkering and petroleum and LNG hub. The RFI envisaged an estimated 150,000 t/yr of gas arriving in late 2020/early 2021 following completion of a CCGT plant.

Italy’s Ministry for the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea announced on 13 February the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mauritius Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities for cooperation in the field of renewable energy, energy efficiency and the fight against climate change. The Italian ministry will provide up to €2m ($2.35m) to co-finance the activities approved under the agreement and will support the participation of the private sector and civil society in initiatives and projects, it said in a statement.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) have announced that $25m in concessional loans from ADFD have been earmarked for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Mauritius and Rwanda. The projects are being financed through the Irena/ADFD project facility, which helps developing countries access low-cost capital for renewable energy projects. The loans cover up to 50% of project costs, leveraging additional funding from other sources.

Australia’s Carnegie Wave Energy has begun design work on its wave-powered microgrid project in Mauritius after receiving an $800,000 grant from the Australian and Mauritian governments. Carnegie will also provide $190,000 for the work. By year-end, the company hopes to have produced a renewable energy roadmap and an assessment of wave energy potential, as well as identifying a preferred site for six of the company’s CETO 6 turbines and designing of a microgrid-powered desalination plant on Rodrigues island. Carnegie will be assisted in the project by Australian microgrid specialists Energy Made Clean.

Finland’s Wärtsilä has won an order to supply a 67MW thermal power plant to replace diesel generating sets at the St Louis power station. The order is for four Wärtsilä 46 engines running on heavy fuel oil. The equipment will be delivered in late 2016, and the plant is scheduled to be operational by September 2017. Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. The modernised power station will provide semi-baseload power, including daily starts and stops, to local residents and industries.

The Central Electricity Board (CEB) has issued a tender for the supply, installation and commissioning of a 60MW diesel plant as part of the redevelopment of the St Louis thermal power station. Units for the new plant will be no smaller than 15MW. The contract is being financed with a dollar denominated loan from the African Development Bank. Bids are due by 1 October and a pre-bid meeting and site visit will be held on 4 August. Further information and bidding documents are available from the CEB website, www.ceb.intnet.mu.

Engen has bought a 15% ownership stake in the Juhi jet fuel storage facility at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport near the capital Port Louis. Engen Petroleum Mauritius managing director Joan Njoroge said jet fuel storage facilities were usually run in consortia, to minimise the number of depots and therefore airport security risks. “Co-ownership puts Engen on a competitive footing with other oil companies,” she said. “We have already won several tenders since we began activities in April.”

The Central Electricity Board (CEB) has requested expressions of interest for the installation of renewable energy technologies as a key part of the government’s strategy to reduce the island’s dependency on fossil fuels while “ensuring energy security at an affordable price”. The CEB is giving eligible promoters until 29 July to indicate their interest in the installation of grid-connected wind, solar photovoltaic, sustainable biomass, hydroelectric power, ocean and waste-to-power.CEB is also looking for baseload, according to senior Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities (MEPU) official Nirmala Nababsing.

US company Stion is supplying solar modules for a 4MW solar project being developed by Synnove Energy. Stion will supply its Stion Elevation STL 140 and 145 frameless solar modules. US-based Synnove was founded in 2010, and chief executive Fred Sisson was a co-founder of REC Solar and Mainstream Energy. The Central Electricity Board predicts Mauritius will need more than 200MW of new power generation by 2022.

The European Investment Bank board has approved an E8m ($10.7m) loan to the Omnicane ethanol distillery at La Baraque in the south of the island. The loan represents about a quarter of the project’s estimated E23m total cost. The plant, which began operations in April 2014, has a total production capacity of 25m litres/yr of hydrous ethanol, using 90,000 tonnes of molasses, with half sourced from La Baraque’s estate and the rest from other sugar factories in the island. The complex is designed to produce 72,000 tonnes of liquid fertilisers from the vinasse waste generated by the production of ethanol with the addition of urea and phosphoric acid.

India’s Astonfield Renewable Resources has signed a power purchase agreement with the Central Electricity Board for two 2MW solar power plants, as part of the government’s 10MW solar photovoltaic (PV) programme. One plant will be located near Union Flacq and will be developed in partnership with Alteo Energy, while the second will be developed solely by Astonfield in La Gaulette. The projects will be developed on an independent power producer basis and Astonfield’s was one of three successful bids for the solar scheme out of a total of 56.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $116.7m loan to the Central Electricity Board (CEB) for the redevelopment of the Saint Louis power plant. The total cost will be $129.7m. The project will provide four 15MW medium-speed generators, a power station building, two 1,000m3 heavy fuel oil storage tanks and a 132kV substation.

The Bambous solar photovoltaic power plant has begun operating in the western Rivière Noire district. With peak output of 15.2MW, it is the first utility-scale solar facility to be built in the country. Germany’s Tauber Solar Energietechnik GmbH and Mauritian firm Sarako, founded in 2013 to develop solar energy in Mauritius and southern Africa, signed an energy supply agreement for the project with the Central Electricity Board (CEB) amid a flurry of renewable energy activity in mid-2013. Germany’s Conecon GmbH was the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, which is owned by Sarako. Tianwei supplied the solar panels, while Switzerland’s ABB provided inverters and transformers.