Réunion aims to go 100% green on power and transport by 2050
Thématique :
La Reunion
By Ed Harris - August 17, 2008
Ringed by volcanic rock, sandy beaches and the blue swell of the Indian Ocean, the French territory of Réunion is hardly a major polluter.
Nevertheless the small island nation, hit by rising fuel costs and worried about the impact of global warming, particularly on its delicate flora and fauna, has set itself the ambitious goal of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
The self-governing department of France wants to use renewable energy sources to produce 100 percent of its electricity by 2025 and to power all of its transport by 2050.
"We have water, sunshine, we even have an active volcano. We have more energy than we need for our development," said Paul Verges, the president of Réunion's regional council, after Group of Eight (G8) leaders agreed to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in half by 2050.
Speaking at a biodiversity conference last month, he said: "We will be fighting 100 percent against CO2 at the same date that you [the G8 rich nations] will be at 50 percent."
Réunion already generates 36 percent of its power from renewables, mostly hydroelectricity and sugar cane fibre, or bagasse. It wants to boost that figure by expanding its existing sources, cutting inefficiencies and exploring new technologies.
"What's possible in Réunion should also be possible in France, and … for the planet," said Yves Jego, France's minister for overseas territories.
Jules Dieudonne, the head of the Regional Plan for Renewable Energies and the Rational Use of Energy, said Réunion was expanding its solar, hydro and wind energy projects to produce up to 750 megawatts, 120MW and 60MW, respectively.
"Our ambition is to have 750ha of [photovoltaic] panels installed."
To reach the targets, €115 million (R1.35 billion) of public money would be spent between 2007 and 2017, he added. Preferential costings meant private energy firms would get paid more to produce power from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.
Serge Borchiellini, the Réunion representative for renewable energy firm Aerowatt, said wind energy already produced up to 16MW.
Dieudonne said the temperature difference between sea water at the surface and at a 1km depth was about 22°C. "This difference can allow us to make electric energy," he said, also citing possible kinetic energy from the ocean swell.
But as in other places, the island's rapidly growing energy demands threaten to delay the targets.
Réunion's population is set to grow more than 20 percent to exceed 1 million people by 2030. The average energy consumption per person is growing at 5 percent a year.
"The big problem in Réunion is the summer heat - everybody wants air conditioning," said Pierre-Yves Ezavin of the Regional Energy Agency of Réunion (Arer). Air conditioning accounted for about 80 percent of office electricity bills.
While traditional homes made good use of wood and windows, recent low-cost housing was built of concrete using methods that trapped heat inside. "We have to take care of construction," Ezavin said.
Arer is running a drive to encourage green technologies such as better construction methods and materials, solar water heaters and bicycles.
But attitudes are slow to change.
"We've heard about it [renewable energy]. I don't know what to think," said Jean-Francois Sery, a taxi driver. "It hasn't yet entered people's thinking."
Accounting for nearly 75 percent of Réunion's energy use, transport is the key issue for reducing emissions.
Seeking to counter the 30 000 new cars that appear on its congested roads every year, the island was set to complete the first 34km phase of an electrically powered tram by 2013 for €1.4 billion, Dieudonne said.
With tourism a major source of jobs and income, airplanes are not part of Réunion's energy targets.
"Our ambition is not to invent a new [carbon neutral] airplane. Our ambition is to do everything we can do in Réunion to become independent of fossil fuels," Dieudonne said.
Biomass will be part of Réunion's power future, while scientists are testing the potential of hydrogen, ocean energy and geothermal energy from La Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world's most active volcanoes.
Ringed by volcanic rock, sandy beaches and the blue swell of the Indian Ocean, the French territory of Réunion is hardly a major polluter.
Nevertheless the small island nation, hit by rising fuel costs and worried about the impact of global warming, particularly on its delicate flora and fauna, has set itself the ambitious goal of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
The self-governing department of France wants to use renewable energy sources to produce 100 percent of its electricity by 2025 and to power all of its transport by 2050.
"We have water, sunshine, we even have an active volcano. We have more energy than we need for our development," said Paul Verges, the president of Réunion's regional council, after Group of Eight (G8) leaders agreed to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in half by 2050.
Speaking at a biodiversity conference last month, he said: "We will be fighting 100 percent against CO2 at the same date that you [the G8 rich nations] will be at 50 percent."
Réunion already generates 36 percent of its power from renewables, mostly hydroelectricity and sugar cane fibre, or bagasse. It wants to boost that figure by expanding its existing sources, cutting inefficiencies and exploring new technologies.
"What's possible in Réunion should also be possible in France, and … for the planet," said Yves Jego, France's minister for overseas territories.
Jules Dieudonne, the head of the Regional Plan for Renewable Energies and the Rational Use of Energy, said Réunion was expanding its solar, hydro and wind energy projects to produce up to 750 megawatts, 120MW and 60MW, respectively.
"Our ambition is to have 750ha of [photovoltaic] panels installed."
To reach the targets, €115 million (R1.35 billion) of public money would be spent between 2007 and 2017, he added. Preferential costings meant private energy firms would get paid more to produce power from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.
Serge Borchiellini, the Réunion representative for renewable energy firm Aerowatt, said wind energy already produced up to 16MW.
Dieudonne said the temperature difference between sea water at the surface and at a 1km depth was about 22°C. "This difference can allow us to make electric energy," he said, also citing possible kinetic energy from the ocean swell.
But as in other places, the island's rapidly growing energy demands threaten to delay the targets.
Réunion's population is set to grow more than 20 percent to exceed 1 million people by 2030. The average energy consumption per person is growing at 5 percent a year.
"The big problem in Réunion is the summer heat - everybody wants air conditioning," said Pierre-Yves Ezavin of the Regional Energy Agency of Réunion (Arer). Air conditioning accounted for about 80 percent of office electricity bills.
While traditional homes made good use of wood and windows, recent low-cost housing was built of concrete using methods that trapped heat inside. "We have to take care of construction," Ezavin said.
Arer is running a drive to encourage green technologies such as better construction methods and materials, solar water heaters and bicycles.
But attitudes are slow to change.
"We've heard about it [renewable energy]. I don't know what to think," said Jean-Francois Sery, a taxi driver. "It hasn't yet entered people's thinking."
Accounting for nearly 75 percent of Réunion's energy use, transport is the key issue for reducing emissions.
Seeking to counter the 30 000 new cars that appear on its congested roads every year, the island was set to complete the first 34km phase of an electrically powered tram by 2013 for €1.4 billion, Dieudonne said.
With tourism a major source of jobs and income, airplanes are not part of Réunion's energy targets.
"Our ambition is not to invent a new [carbon neutral] airplane. Our ambition is to do everything we can do in Réunion to become independent of fossil fuels," Dieudonne said.
Biomass will be part of Réunion's power future, while scientists are testing the potential of hydrogen, ocean energy and geothermal energy from La Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world's most active volcanoes.
