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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

India, Seychelles to boost ties in renewable energy |18 October 2012

This follows a meeting that the Minister for Environment and Energy, Professor Rolph Payet, had recently with his Indian counterpart, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy. Professor Payet was accompanied at the meeting in New Delhi by the Seychelles ambassador to India, Waven William.

The meeting follows the visit of President James Michel to India in February 2012, and the visit of the then President of India Pratibha Patil in April of the same year.

During the visit of President Patil, Seychelles was offered a US $25 million grant from the government of India, a large proportion of which will be dedicated towards the development of a solar farm in Seychelles.

In that regard, an Indian delegation is to come to Seychelles shortly to undertake an evaluation of Seychelles’ capacity for solar energy, in terms of the stability of the electricity grid, availability of suitable land, roofs and shallow coastal areas.

This mission will also start the design of the first integrated solar farm for Seychelles, which would also include the housing estates on the east coast of Mahe.

An assessment of potential biomass for use in energy production will also be undertaken.
Prof. Payet further highlighted the need for Seychelles to have technical support and further capacity strengthening of the Seychelles Energy Commission, as well as the provision of training for people wishing to enter the renewable energy market.

This will be necessary as Seychelles is about to adopt its first dedicated Energy Act, which will be submitted for consideration by the National Assembly before the end of the year.

The new act will provide the framework for investment and implementation of renewable energy, and the management of energy in Seychelles.

Both sides agreed to continue to pursue goals towards the transformation of their respective economies towards more sustainable forms of energy, especially with rising costs of fuel and the threat of climate change.

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