Henrietta Solar Power Project, Mauritius
The 17.5 MW greenfield grid-connected Henrietta Solar Power project provides electricity to the Central Electricity Board on the island of Mauritius. It consists of 53,700 solar polycrystalline modules, installed over an area of 21 hectares in Henrietta on the Plaine Wilhems Region. The project started operating in April 2019 and represents 21% of Mauritius’ total installed solar power capacity.
Benefits: Climate & Environment
Electricity in Mauritius is heavily dependent imported fossil fuels, with significant associated cost. The project’s solar power production reduces the island’s dependence on fossil fuel, thus reducing the Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG) associated with the country’s power production. The project supports of the country’s ambitions national ‘Mauritius sustainable island’ strategy, which aims to achieve 35% of renewable energy in the island’s energy mix by 2025, and to stop carbon-based power production on the island by 2030.
- The project’s renewable energy activity displaces fossil-fuelled electricity production from the grid, as well as reducing the cost and environmental impacts associated with the importation of fossil fuels.
- The project’s emission factor is assessed to be 0.9915 tCO2e per megawatt (MW) of power produced. This means that for every MW of production the project prevents 0.9915 tonnes of emissions being generated by the country’s fossil fuel power facilities.
- The project has been operating continually and satisfactorily since its start of operations in 2016. The latest performance reports show that the plant achieved a total of 38,751 tonnes CO2e verified emission reductions during the verification period (01/11/21 – 30/11/22) and a further 10,877 tonnes CO2e in the following 6-months (01/12/2022 – 31/05/2023).
- The project supports local agriculture, with various herbs, ginger and sweet potatoes planted near the facility. There are plans for other types of crops to be grown in the future.
Benefits: Social & Economic
There are socio-economic benefits of the project activity including improved infrastructure in the region, and employment opportunities for local residents. The project hired 200 people for the construction phase of the plant and created 16 full-time jobs for its operational phase.
Project Verification
The project is eligible under the scope of the VCS program version 3.0 because it results in CO2 emission reductions, one of six Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gasses. The corresponding carbon credits were verified under the Verified Carbon Standard by the approved third-party auditor, Earthhood Services Private Limited (ESPL).
For more information about Henrietta Solar Power Project, please visit www.registry.verra.org
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