Quadran to construct 4MW floating solar in Seychelles

• The final version of the PPA is expected to come in force in Q1, while Quadran Seychelles is slated to start constructing the large-scale floating photovoltaic plant in Q2 of the new year.

The Seychellois branch of France’s Quadran has been approved for constructing a floating photovoltaic installation with a capacity of 4 megawatts. The tender winner has beaten Norwegian, French, Spanish, Italian, and Mauritian solar constructers, since it has submitted the minimum bid of USD 0.095 per kilowatt hour. 

Building of the facility is scheduled to start in Q2, after the terms of the agreement for 25 years are finalized in Q1 of 2020. The plant will be installed in Lagoon le Rocher.

The floating structure will solve two problems at a time – it will both generate climate-safe power and save the limited land area. The project is meant to boost the Seychellois photovoltaic potential. This will enable the country to shift from the fossil power it is currently importing to eco-friendly, green power. In a ten-year’s period, the Seychelles’ authorities plan to reach the 15-percent share of clean power.

Today, most of the Republic’s electricity need is provided from a wind farm with a capacity of 6 megawatts and two diesel stations. The wind park came online six years ago. The smaller diesel plant has a capacity of 12 megawatts and is located on Praslin – the second largest isle of the Seychelles. The bigger one, with a 69-megawatt generation capacity, is installed on the largest isle – Mahé (the same isle where the new floating facility will be build).