Mauritius prepares for energy crisis
Thématique :
maurice
Le Matinal
Oil having reached a new record of over $ 142 a barrel last Friday, heavy oil users are bracing themselves to face an unprecedented situation. According to Patrick Assirvaden, chairman of the Central Electricity Board (CEB), the price of oil products used by the CEB have climbed by 27% since January. " When the price of heavy oil which the CEB uses goes up by one dollar per ton, the CEB has to incur a supplementary expenditure of Rs 6 million. And we use between 215 and 220,000 tons in a year. It's a situation which is of great concern not only for the CEB, but also for the whole population."
That is why the government is making the building of Green Mauritius a top priority. The deputy prime minister and minister of Finance said it in his budget speech. "As a country that relies on around 80 percent of its energy on imports, we are extremely vulnerable. It is a situation that calls for a fundamental review of the assumptions on which we have planned our economic development. We have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel. The nation must come together because we are all part of the solutions. Our actions must be comprehensive and must exhaust all possibilities."
The strategy is to replace imported fossil fuel by local renewable sources and to better manage demand. The plan is to double the share of renewable sources of energy to produce electricity to around 40 percent within the next decade.
All potential for local sources of renewable energy are being explored in order to make use of them to replace imports. A wind energy project at Bigara for 25 to 40 megawatts (MW) is being planned. It is expected to cost about Rs 1 billion and should yield 50 to 60 million kilowatt hours (KWh) representing 3 percent of electricity consumption. The CEB is already operating a 275 KW wind generator in Rodrigues. The CEB will also set up two new hydro units at Midlands Dam and La Nicolière to produce electricity.
As the new projects will take some time to bring tangible results, the Ministry of Public Utilities and the CEB will be launching a major Save Energy campaign in August. In this connection, the CEB will be putting on sale at half of their cost price one million Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) in 2 phases starting with 200,000 lamps. This project will be implemented by the CEB in association with Pioneer Carbon that will contribute 50 percent of the cost from Carbon Credits. The Maurice Ile Durable Fund will support the project with an initial grant of up to Rs 20 million. The total cost of the subsidy is estimated at Rs 40 million. As one CFL consumes 60 percent less electricity, there will be considerable savings for households and for the country, again reducing the dependence on fossil fuel. On the other hand, the government has already announced its intention of adopt Summer Time in Mauritius and move the clock forward one hour from November 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009. Mauritius is relying on the experience of countries, from Pakistan to Namibia, from Iraq to New Zealand and Tunisia to Australia as well as most industrialized countries, which have made significant savings in energy consumption. The gains to the country and to reducing global carbon emissions can be significant. The extra one hour of sunshine will generate substantial savings in terms of energy consumption and production. In fact, it is equivalent to replacing one hour of expensive and highly polluting fossil fuel source of energy every day, during the summer, with totally free renewable solar energy. The savings are expected to be around 15 Megawatts, equivalent to the output of a small power station. In addition it will lower peak demand requirements. However, the Summer Time will be introduced on a pilot basis and will become an annual feature if it proves to be successful and brings about the benefits expected not only in terms of energy savings but equally in terms of having more sunshine for sports, leisure, shopping and other activities.
The Highlands World Class City project will have to be as energy efficient and as energy clean as possible, with emphasis on renewable energy. The same requirements will also apply to all IRS projects.
All new collective housing and morcellement projects will have to include an energy efficiency plan before approval. The Ministry of Public Utilities will also work with all government departments to develop an energy saving plan by end-June 2009. All sodium vapour lamps used for street lighting will be replaced over the next 5 years by energy efficient lamps and the use of LED lamps will be explored.
Oil having reached a new record of over $ 142 a barrel last Friday, heavy oil users are bracing themselves to face an unprecedented situation. According to Patrick Assirvaden, chairman of the Central Electricity Board (CEB), the price of oil products used by the CEB have climbed by 27% since January. " When the price of heavy oil which the CEB uses goes up by one dollar per ton, the CEB has to incur a supplementary expenditure of Rs 6 million. And we use between 215 and 220,000 tons in a year. It's a situation which is of great concern not only for the CEB, but also for the whole population."
That is why the government is making the building of Green Mauritius a top priority. The deputy prime minister and minister of Finance said it in his budget speech. "As a country that relies on around 80 percent of its energy on imports, we are extremely vulnerable. It is a situation that calls for a fundamental review of the assumptions on which we have planned our economic development. We have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel. The nation must come together because we are all part of the solutions. Our actions must be comprehensive and must exhaust all possibilities."
The strategy is to replace imported fossil fuel by local renewable sources and to better manage demand. The plan is to double the share of renewable sources of energy to produce electricity to around 40 percent within the next decade.
All potential for local sources of renewable energy are being explored in order to make use of them to replace imports. A wind energy project at Bigara for 25 to 40 megawatts (MW) is being planned. It is expected to cost about Rs 1 billion and should yield 50 to 60 million kilowatt hours (KWh) representing 3 percent of electricity consumption. The CEB is already operating a 275 KW wind generator in Rodrigues. The CEB will also set up two new hydro units at Midlands Dam and La Nicolière to produce electricity.
As the new projects will take some time to bring tangible results, the Ministry of Public Utilities and the CEB will be launching a major Save Energy campaign in August. In this connection, the CEB will be putting on sale at half of their cost price one million Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) in 2 phases starting with 200,000 lamps. This project will be implemented by the CEB in association with Pioneer Carbon that will contribute 50 percent of the cost from Carbon Credits. The Maurice Ile Durable Fund will support the project with an initial grant of up to Rs 20 million. The total cost of the subsidy is estimated at Rs 40 million. As one CFL consumes 60 percent less electricity, there will be considerable savings for households and for the country, again reducing the dependence on fossil fuel. On the other hand, the government has already announced its intention of adopt Summer Time in Mauritius and move the clock forward one hour from November 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009. Mauritius is relying on the experience of countries, from Pakistan to Namibia, from Iraq to New Zealand and Tunisia to Australia as well as most industrialized countries, which have made significant savings in energy consumption. The gains to the country and to reducing global carbon emissions can be significant. The extra one hour of sunshine will generate substantial savings in terms of energy consumption and production. In fact, it is equivalent to replacing one hour of expensive and highly polluting fossil fuel source of energy every day, during the summer, with totally free renewable solar energy. The savings are expected to be around 15 Megawatts, equivalent to the output of a small power station. In addition it will lower peak demand requirements. However, the Summer Time will be introduced on a pilot basis and will become an annual feature if it proves to be successful and brings about the benefits expected not only in terms of energy savings but equally in terms of having more sunshine for sports, leisure, shopping and other activities.
The Highlands World Class City project will have to be as energy efficient and as energy clean as possible, with emphasis on renewable energy. The same requirements will also apply to all IRS projects.
All new collective housing and morcellement projects will have to include an energy efficiency plan before approval. The Ministry of Public Utilities will also work with all government departments to develop an energy saving plan by end-June 2009. All sodium vapour lamps used for street lighting will be replaced over the next 5 years by energy efficient lamps and the use of LED lamps will be explored.
