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SOLAR, WIND PROJECTS IN PLAN

Michel ... bid to tackle domestic energy shortage.

Seychelles unveils green energy tie-up with Masdar

SEYCHELLES, July 19, 2015

Seychelles has launched a renewable energy initiative in collaboration with the UAE’s Masdar Company to establish new wind and solar energy projects to secure future domestic needs of the country.

Seychelles President James Michel said the “democracy of renewable energy” initiative would give hope to the Seychelles people to obtain solar and wind energy to tackle a severe shortage in domestic energy sources because of the country’s poor hydrocarbon wealth and small financial resources needed to import energy.

He paid tributes to Abu Dhabi for helping Seychelles in constructing a wind energy station and supporting plans to set up a solar energy project.

He said the new initiative is also intended to achieve sustainable development and encourage investors in this field.

“The scarcity of water resources in Seychelles requires us to rely on sea water and this naturally requires energy…therefore ensuring new sources of energy has become essential for our country and I would like to thank Abu Dhabi for its help in this respect….we welcome investors from the UAE, other Gulf states or any other country to set up renewable energy projects in Seychelles,” he said.

He noted that Masdar has helped Seychelles build a six-MW wind energy station in the capital Victoria, the first renewable energy project in Seychelles.

He said that the station ensures more than eight per cent of the energy needs of Mahe Island, home to over 90 per cent of Seychelles’s population. He added that the project was funded through a $28-million grant provided by the government-owned Abu Dhabi Development Fund.

Michel said that Abu Dhabi, the global renewable energy capital, would host a “blue  economy” summit in 2016 in collaboration with Seychelles on the sidelines of the energy summit due to be held at the exhibition centre in Abu Dhabi.

“I will attend the energy summit which is a major gathering aimed at discussing challenges affecting energy, water and sustainable development issues….this summit constitutes an important platform to exchange views between global decision makers.”

Recent figures showed that the renewable energy was the largest recipient of investments in the energy industry last year, accounting for nearly 16 per cent of the total energy investment or around $310 billion. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: solar | Masdar | Seychelles | Wind | Renewables |

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