Launch of the Energy and Environment Partnership with East and Southern Africa

Seychelles targets 15% renewable energy by 2030 -- Minister Payet

The Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) programme with Eastern and Southern African partner countries was launched on Wednesday in Victoria, involving 13 countries of the region.


Prof. Payet addressing guests and delegates at the launch ceremony

The EEP programme for achieving more efficient use of new renewable energy sources is being backed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, in cooperation with the Austrian Development Cooperation and the Department for International Development and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

Besides Seychelles, the programme covers Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, though not all were represented at the gathering at the Seychelles Trading Company’s conference room.

Environment and Energy Minister Rolph Payet said every week since he was appointed
minister in March, he receives on average two individuals who are interested in renewable energy. They want to know how they can enter the energy market and about opportunities here.

“Many are surprised when I tell them that they can enter the market now. Many are perplexed by the fact that in Seychelles, one does not have to pay duty on photovoltaic systems. However, many of those companies and individuals are also interested in any financial assistance that may be available.”

Prof. Payet said Seychelles is encouraging investments to expand the renewable energy sector, as we recognise that our economy cannot absorb the escalating costs of fossil fuels.

He added that fundamental to the strategy to stimulate investments in renewable energy, is the enactment of appropriate legislation to manage the industry, the appropriate institutions and a transparent feed-in tariff structure.

Both instruments are in the final stages of drafting and review, and will be submitted to the National Assembly for endorsement shortly.

It is envisaged that by December, Seychelles will have a liberalised energy sector and a number of independent power producers, Prof. Payet said.

He noted that Seychelles also need right investments, especially those that will contribute to our national efforts to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels in the long term, especially in achieving our target of 15% renewable by 2030, adding that as a small island state, we are vulnerable to external fossil price shocks and supply.

On the US $28 million wind farm project financed by the government of the UAE through Masdar, Prof. Payet said it is a clear example of the high cost of initial investments in renewable energy. He noted that the initial costs are clearly offset by the resulting decrease in dependence on fossil fuel.

However, it is obvious that wind energy sources will not be sufficient to meet our national demand for energy although it will be a significant contributor to our long-term objective, he said.

Prof. Payet said our focus on solar photovoltaic is therefore seen as an opportunity to further boost our renewable energy portfolio. Until recently however, the cost of photovoltaic has remained prohibitive and on a per kilowatt hour basis, was more expensive than wind energy.

“The economic viability of these energy options therefore need to be carefully evaluated,” he said.

Prof. Payet sees the fact that the Aldabra World heritage site is now running on renewable energy and is therefore a truly carbon neutral conservation area, as “a significant achievement for Seychelles”.

He noted that this is in line with government’s decision to allocate towards the solar farms on Mahe 60% of the grant received by Seychelles from the Indian government during the recent visit of President Pratibha Patil.

Other investment projects being considered by the government are in the areas of waste-to-energy, biomass and heat recovery, all opportunities where investment can be further nurtured.
Prof. Payet stressed that consumer education and awareness is an important component of this national strategy.

“We need to educate our children and consumers on the importance of energy conservation and making the right consumer decisions for energy efficient appliances and lifestyle.”

Saying that, Prof. Payet welcomed the ambassador of Finland, Brita Sofie From-Emmesberger, whose presence, he said, demonstrates the commitment of the government of Finland and the European Union in addressing the climate change challenge and supporting Seychelles to achieve its renewable energy targets.

The Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) is a unique initiative to improve access to reliable, affordable and cost-effective climate friendly and sustainable energy services in Africa.

The AEEP programme in Southern and East Africa is jointly funded by the governments of Finland, Austria and more recently joined by the UK’s Department for International Development.

Ambassador From-Emmesberger, who is based in Nairobi, hailed the leadership role that Seychelles has taken in promoting sustainable energy sources.

She said that the setting up of the solar energy system on Aldabra Nature Reserve, carried out with the assistance of AEEP funds, is an eloquent example of that commitment to environment conservation.

Ambassador From-Emmesberger said though the outcome of the recent Rio+20 summit was not up to expectations, it still came up with support for the “green economy”.

She said she is aware that in Seychelles we are also aiming for a “blue economy” that is linked to the ocean, and noted that both objectives are similar in that they aim for sustainable consumption patterns.

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Stakeholders discuss technical standards for solar PV systems

31-March-2016
Local photovoltaic (PV) suppliers and other stakeholders took part in a workshop yesterday on technical standards for solar PV systems.
The forum, held at Care House, was jointly organised by the GOS-UNDP-GEF PV project and the Seychelles Energy Commission (Sec).
The main purpose of this workshop was to adapt the objective of the PV project’s component which focuses on the strengthening of policy, legal frameworks adopted to promote renewable energy technologies and enable grid connected renewable energy production.
The establishment of these technical standards and specifications is an activity under the GOS-UNDP-GEF PV project, which is a US $1.2 million project aimed at increasing the use of rooftop grid connected solar PV systems in Seychelles.
In her opening remarks, principal officer for renewable energy and energy management (Reem) of Sec, Cynthia Alexander, said in regards to renewable energy technologies, solar power is the easily accessible source for Seychelles and this project concentrates more on grid connected rooftop PV systems.
“Can you imagine what could possibly happen if there is no standards? Products might not work as expected, products may not be of same quality, products may not be compatible with other equipment and in extreme cases, products might pose a danger,” she said.
Mrs Alexander also noted a few benefits of the standards.
“It will raise the consumers trust on the product and its safety, increase sales of products by being reliable, provide ways to improve new technologies by managing environmental and social risks, support the government policies and regulations, whereby the users’ and businesses’ interests are protected, open up market access, provide economies of scale and encourage innovation, increase the awareness of technical developments, and most importantly provide greater variety of accessible products to consumers,” she said.
The technical standards are developed with an objective to have common criteria, guidelines; methods to control and compare any PV related process and products that includes the equipment, its components and method of operations.
International standards play an important role in the PV industry, since it is critical that PV products must be measured and qualified the same way all over the world.
The standards that were presented have been adopted from existing international standards which select technologies that will be best suited for the country’s geographical and climatic situations.
These standards will be reviewed every year and updated based on the need for increasing PV yield and also the reduction of cost per watt.
The presentations were led by the principal officer for engineering and technical affairs of Sec Ralph Vel, project manager PV project of programme coordination unit (PCU) ElkeTalma.
Present during the deliberations was the chief executive of Sec Tony Imaduwa, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy (MFTBE), Ministry of Land Use and Housing (MLUH), Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC), Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS), Seychelles Institute of Technology (Sit), Fair Trading Commission (FTC), Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC), Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), PV suppliers and installers.

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Stakeholders from banking, lending sector learn importance of financing energy-efficient projects

12-December-2016


The role of commercial banks and financial institutions is seen as imperative in supporting Seychelles achieve its goal of becoming energy efficient. Their active involvement is fundamental for the long-term growth and development of the market to provide loans to finance energy efficient projects and programmes.

It is for this reason that the government, United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility (GOS-UNDP-GEF) Resource Efficiency Project and the Seychelles Energy Commission (SEC) organised a two-day energy efficiency lending information and education session and business to business networking event last week for stakeholders in the banking and lending sectors.
[Only admins are allowed to see this link]