28 May 2017, Port Loius — A one-day workshop focusing on the study on High-Penetration Renewable energy roadmap, wave resource assessment and wave-integrated microgrid design in Mauritius was held yesterday at the Voila Hotel, Bagatelle. The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr. Ivan Collendavelloo, the Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr. Premdut Koonjoo and the Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr. Yogida Sawmynaden were present at the event.
A joint initiative of the Mauritius Research Council and the Australian Wave Energy Developer Carnegie Wave Energy, the study launched in November 2015, aimed at exploring the prospects of developing wave energy and harnessing the potentials of ocean energy in Mauritius and Rodrigues.
A roadmap for Mauritius, a detailed design of a microgrid for Rodrigues and a wave resource assessment were presented during the workshop. Participants from various organisations made several recommendations to the government with regard to the way forward in implementing the project. The developed roadmap spreading over to 2025 and sets a target of generating 35% of renewable energy from the ocean.
In his address, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Ivan Collendavelloo underlined that Mauritius has steadily progressed in its mission of developing wave energy and is poised to gain considerably for its future by securing it’s sustainable, replicable and economically viable sources of energy.
He reiterated the willingness of Government to meet the environmental sustainability targets of the 2030 Millennium Development Goals. The government is perennially focused on reducing the ecological footprint, he pointed out. In this regard several green projects banking on wave, solar and wind energy sources, have already been endorsed, he added.
For his part, Minister Koonjoo highlighted that Mauritius having a total area of 2.3 million square kilometres of Exclusive Economic Zone, is geographically well positioned to harness ocean energy, in the form of offshore wind, ocean wave, ocean current, ocean thermal and ocean saline energy.
This project, he underlined, will enable the country to achieve its energy security and in the long run, help to exceed the expected target of generating 35 % of electricity production from renewable energies. The Clean energy project aiming at creating a sustainable energy system will also ensure the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, he added.
The Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr. Yogida Sawmynaden, underlined that in the increasingly urgent pursuit of alternatives to fossil fuels, ocean energy is a clean option and ocean power should be optimised and harnessed. Improving the technological landscape and innovation ecosystem of the country is a turning point in creating a new sustainable and innovation culture, he added.
He highlighted that Government is advancing research and technology to allow the doers of innovation to operate and unleash their potential to embark on a number of research and innovation ventures. This project, he emphasised, has twin benefits, that of increasing the scope for marine ICT and increasing the high development potential of Mauritius to shape a sustainable future.
*Government of Mauritius – Press release