Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Renewable energy exploitation in the small island developing state of

Mauritius: Current practice and future potential
Zumar M.A. Bundhoo
Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Mauritius is highly reliant on fossil fuels for meeting its increasing energy demands. However, a lot of effort has
Renewable energy been made over the years to shift towards renewable energies. This study investigated the current status of
Small island developing state renewable energy exploitation in Mauritius while also considering other potential energy sources to further
Hydropower increase the contribution of renewable energy in the energy mix of the island. Among the different renewable
Solar energy
energies studied, sugarcane bagasse combustion for electricity generation remains the main contributor
Bio-energy
Ocean energy
followed by hydroelectricity. Considering solar and wind energy, several attempts have been made to promote
the use of these two renewable energy sources but their contributions are still very low. However, solar energy,
in the form of solar water heaters and photovoltaic panels, is being increasingly tapped while wind energy
exploitation is also expected to further increase in the future. Furthermore, this study reviewed the huge
potential of renewable energies from the ocean such as wave energy and ocean thermal energy conversion
systems. Geothermal energy, often claimed as a promising renewable energy resource for Mauritius, was found
to be unfeasible for the island. Another renewable energy resource, of huge potential, that is not fully explored
on the island is bio-energy from biomass and waste materials, having an energy potential of 12 PJ/year. From
the different sources of bio-energy investigated, sugarcane trash has the highest energy potential followed by the
organic fractions of municipal solid wastes and animal manures. Finally, this study reviewed the different
policies and legal and institutional frameworks governing energy in Mauritius while also addressing the several
challenges for promotion of renewable energy on the island. For Mauritius to be energy sustainable, all the
diverse renewable energy resources will need to be exploited such that the island has an energy-secured
situation, far from the uncertainties surrounding fossil fuels.

1. Introduction
Global energy supply has been continuously dominated by fossil
fuels over the years with 81.0% of the world's energy supply being met
through fossils in 2014 [1]. Due to increasing population, higher
standards of living, higher economic development and industrialisa-
tion, the world's energy requirement is anticipated to further increase
[2,3]. Considering the negative ecological impacts of fossil fuels as well
as the soaring and highly volatile prices of the fuel due to depletion of
the reserves and political instabilities, heavy dependence on fossils
poses major energy insecurity risks for any economy [4]. This issue of
energy insecurity is of even greater concern for small island developing
states (SIDS) which are highly vulnerable to the unstable prices of fossil
fuels and this considerably impacts on these developing economies [5].
One such SIDS is Mauritius, located to the east of Madagascar in
the Indian Ocean, with a surface area of 1865 km2 and a population of
1,220,530 in 2015 [6]. In 2015, the total primary energy requirement
(TPER) for Mauritius was 64,087 TJ, representing an increase of 2.85%
over the previous year [7]. As with many SIDS, Mauritius is highly
reliant on fossil fuels for meeting its TPER, with 83.6% of its energy
demand being met through fossil fuels in 2015 [7]. Considering that
the TPER in Mauritius has been continuously increasing over the years,
as depicted in Fig. 1, and is anticipated to further escalate in the future,
Mauritius is condemned to shift towards renewable energy options for
its energy requirements due to the energy insecurity issues posed by
high dependency on fossil fuels. This shift has already been adopted by
many countries worldwide while many developing economies are now
following the trend as evidenced by the numerous studies performed
on renewable energy in developing countries like Algeria [8],
Bangladesh [9,10], Brazil [11], Cameroon [12–14], China [15], India
[16], Indonesia [17], Iran [18], Kenya [19], Malaysia [20,21], Nigeria
[13,22], Oman [23] and Pakistan [24,25] over the past few years.
As for Mauritius, the shift towards renewable energy has taken a
negative trend from 2011 to 2014 with a gradual decrease in the share

E-mail address: zumar.bundhoo@gmail.com.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.019
Received 16 September 2016; Received in revised form 23 January 2017; Accepted 6 July 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Bundhoo, Z.M., Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.019
Z.M.A. Bundhoo Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 1
Current and targeted contribution of renewable sources for total electricity generation in
Mauritius.

Current Targeted contribution (long-term

contribution (%) energy strategy) (%) [28]
[7]

Year 2015 2015 2020 2025

Bagasse 17.2 13 14 17
Hydropower 4.1 3 3 2
Solar PV 0.9 1 1 2
Waste to energy 0.7 5 4 4
Wind energy 0 2 6 8
Geothermal 0 0 0 2
Fig. 1. Trends in energy requirement for Mauritius and contribution from renewable energy
energies (Adapted from Ref. [26] with permission from Elsevier and compiled based on Total 22.9 24 28 35
data from Refs. [7,27]).

of renewable energy as observed in Fig. 1. However, in 2015, the
contribution of renewable energy in the energy mix increased by 15.7%
as compared to the previous year [7]. Nonetheless, the dependency on
fossil fuels (83.6%) is still very high and unexplored sources of
renewable energy will need to be investigated so as to further increase
the share of renewables in Mauritius. According to the long-term
energy strategy for Mauritius, it is forecasted that 35% of electricity
production will be met through renewable energies by 2025 [28] while
this value currently stands at less than 23% [7]. Consequently, the aim
of this study was to investigate the current status of renewable energy
exploitation in Mauritius while also proposing future potentials in an
attempt to reach the target of 35% by 2025. The study also summarises
the frameworks (institutional and legal) that have been set-up to
promote and facilitate renewable energy in Mauritius while also
discussing the current barriers to renewable energy exploitation on
the island.
2. Mauritius energy profile
The energy mix in Mauritius is currently dominated by fossil fuels
with 83.6% of the TPER being met through coal and petroleum
products in 2015 with the remaining 16.4% being covered through
renewable energies in the form of sugarcane bagasse, hydropower,
fuelwood, photovoltaics (PV) and landfill gas to energy, as shown in
Fig. 2 [7].
Coal and petroleum products like kerosene and fuel oil are mainly
combusted to produce electricity while gasoline, diesel and aviation
fuel are used primarily in the transport sector. Liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG) is widely used in household as cooking gas or in the commercial
sector while most renewable energy sources are used for production of
electricity with the exception of fuelwood which is also used for cooking
purposes in some households. Besides the transport sector and the
production of electricity, the manufacturing sector also consumes a
considerable amount of energy in the form of coal, diesel, fuel oil and
LPG.
2.1. Electricity generation in Mauritius
The “transmission, distribution and sale of electricity” is governed
by the Central Electricity Board (CEB) in Mauritius [29]. Besides the
distribution of electricity, the CEB also produces approximately 40% of
total electricity in Mauritius and the remaining 60% is produced by
independent power producers who subsequently sell the electricity to
the CEB [29]. In 2015, 77.1% of total electricity generation in
Mauritius was supplied through combustion of coal (40.0%), fuel and
diesel oil (37.0%) and kerosene (0.1%) [7] with the remaining being
supplied through renewable energies as summarised in Table 1.
Compared with the targeted values for the year 2015 from the long-
term energy strategy 2009–2025, the actual values for 2015 differ for
each of the renewable energy sources. All the targets set with respect to
solar energy, wind energy and waste-to-energy (WTE) (forecasted for
year 2015) are lower than the actual values for 2015. Based on these
data, Mauritius is still lagging with respect to the 2015 forecasts in the
long-term energy strategy. At the current rate, the targets of 2020 and
2025 will not be attained. As such, the following sections investigate
the current status of renewable energies namely hydropower, solar,
wind, wave, geothermal and bio-energy in Mauritius while also
assessing the future potentials of these renewable energy sources in
an attempt to achieve the targets of 2020 and 2025.
3. Renewable energy in Mauritius

Renewable energy sources that have been widely exploited in

Mauritius include hydropower and sugarcane bagasse while solar and
wind energy are now becoming a reality with potential sources viz.
WTE, wave energy and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)
systems still not fully exploited.

3.1. Hydropower

Hydroelectric power is one of the oldest tapped renewable energy

Fig. 2. Contributions of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources in the TPER for
Mauritius in 2015 (Compiled based on data from Ref. [7]).
sources in Mauritius, with hydroelectricity first being produced in 1899
[30,31]. Currently, there are ten large and small hydroelectric power
plants in Mauritius with a total installed capacity of 60.74 MW [27,32],
located in different parts of the island as shown in Fig. 3. Some of them
are conventional types with dam storage facilities while the remaining
ones are operated as run-of-the-river types, as summarised in Table 2.
There also exist two privately-owned micro-scale hydropower plants of
capacities 200 kW (Riche en Eau) and 100 kW (Bois Cherie) that sell
their electricity to the CEB while a further one 100 kW power plant

2
Z.M.A. Bundhoo Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Fig. 3. Location of existing and future/potential renewable energy plants in Mauritius.

(Britannia) generates electricity for local use [31,33]. Hydropower is
heavily dependent on rainfall for maximum capacity production and
since Mauritius suffers from seasonal variations in rainfall, the hydro-
electric power plants only operate at full capacities in periods of heavy
rainfall [28]. In 2015, the total electricity generation from hydropower
amounted to 121.9 GW h, representing 4.1% of total electricity gen-
eration in Mauritius [7].
Hydropower has been reported to be fully exploited in Mauritius
with potential for new hydropower plants low [28,31]. Nonetheless,
one hydropower plant of capacity 350 kW is expected to be operational
in the future with a dam storage facility located at Bagatelle in
Mauritius (Fig. 3) [31]. The construction of the Bagatelle dam, as it
is called, should have reached completion by the end of 2014 [34].
However, due to issues related to on-site water porosity and risks of
leaks, additional works had to be done and the project completion was
delayed [34]. Nonetheless, the construction of the bagatelle dam has
now been completed and is expected to be completely filled by mid-
2017 [35]. Besides investigating the potential for construction of new
micro-scale hydropower plants, pumped storage systems are also being
studied such that in off-peak periods, the excess electricity produced

Table 2
Hydroelectric power plants in Mauritius (Compiled from Refs. [28,31–33]).

Hydroelectric power plant Year of operation Type Installed capacity (MW) Effective capacity (% of installed capacity)

Champagne 1984 Dam storage 30.00 93.3

Ferney 1971 Run-of-the-river 10.00 100.0
Tamarind Falls 1903 Dam storage 11.70 81.2
Le Val 1961 Dam storage 4.00 100.0
Réduit 1906 Run-of-the-river 1.20 83.3
Cascade Cécile 1963 Run-of-the-river 1.00 100.0
Magenta 1960 Dam storage 0.94 95.7
Midlands Dam 2013 Dam storage 0.35 100.0
La Nicolière Feeder Canal 2010 Run-of-the-river 0.35 100.0
La Ferme 1959 Run-of-the-river 1.20 100.0
Total – – 60.74 –

3
Z.M.A. Bundhoo
can be used for pumping the water to an intermediate storage reservoir
to be consequently used in peak hours for meeting the electricity
demand [31].
3.2. Solar energy
As a tropical island, Mauritius receives a considerable amount of
sunshine daily. In 2014, the island received approximately 2662 h of
sunshine, representing an average of 7.3 h of sunshine daily [36].
Coupled with a solar irradiation rate of 6 kW h/m2/day [37], solar
energy represents one of the most feasible renewable energy source in
Mauritius. While solar energy has various applications in solar water
heaters, PV panels, concentrated solar panels, amongst others, solar
water heaters and PV panels are the two main applications that are
currently being encouraged in Mauritius.
3.2.1. Solar water heaters
Mauritians were initially encouraged to purchase solar water
heaters in 1992 with loans being offered at reduced rates for this
purpose [28]. However, in 2008, only about 8% of households in
Mauritius possessed a solar water heater [28]. Consequently, the
Government of Mauritius came with a solar water heater scheme
(Phase 1), through the Maurice-Ile-Durable fund (Maurice-Ile-Durable
concept was initiated with the aim of making Mauritius sustainable),
whereby grants of MUR 10,000 were provided for a solar water heater
system [28]. With this scheme proving to be successful with 24,000
more households then possessing a solar water heater [38], the scheme
was further extended to two new phases (Phase 2 and 3) with an
additional 14,600 and 19,762 more households now possessing a solar
water heater [38]. As it stands, more than 25% of households in
Mauritius now own a solar water heater [28,38].
3.2.2. Photovoltaic panels
The use of PV panels for electricity production has gained increas-
ing interests in Mauritius with the introduction of the distributed
generation schemes [39], which implies the production of electricity at
the point of consumption. This scheme, planned for solar energy, wind
energy and micro hydropower, was introduced by the CEB as feed-in
tariffs and net-metering systems [39,40]. In feed-in tariffs systems, the
producer gets paid (although at a low rate) for any excess electricity
exported to the grid while in net-metering systems, the producer can
use the excess electricity produced during a particular month in any
other month whereby his consumption exceeds his production instead
of purchasing from the grid. The distributed generation schemes were
initially devised as small-scale distributed generation with individual
capacities of < 50 kW for a total of 2 MW (feed-in tariff) and 5 MW
(net-metering) [39]. Subsequently, the scheme was extended for larger
producers with the medium-scale distributed generation net-metering
scheme (individual capacities of 50 kW to 2 MW for a total capacity of
10 MW) then introduced [39].
Besides these small- and medium-scale systems, there also exists a
larger solar park in Mauritius with a total capacity of 15.2 MW, located
in the western part of the island and operational since 2014 [41] as
illustrated in Fig. 3. Other examples include a commercial centre in the
eastern part of the island (Fig. 3), equipped with a PV system with a
capacity of 1.2 MW, operational since 2015 [42]. Many other small
scale systems are also operated in supermarkets and public schools/
colleges. In 2015, 25.9 GW h of electricity was produced from PV,
representing 0.9% of total electricity production in Mauritius [7].
Considering the amount of sunshine as well as the solar irradiation
rate in Mauritius, future potentials for solar energy exploitation include
the installation of 50 kW PV panels in government buildings after each
2 years and the construction of a 10 MW PV plant every 3 years [43]. In
the same line, the government is proposing a scheme for 10,000
households to be equipped with PV panels while value-added tax on PV
inverters and batteries is also being removed to further boost solar
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
energy use in Mauritius [44]. Other PV projects announced by the
government include six solar PV plants of total capacity 43 MW and a
further three PV plants (1 of these will be annexed to an existing PV
plant) of capacity varying from 1 to 9 MW, located mainly in the
northern and eastern part of Mauritius [45], as shown in Fig. 3.
3.3. Wind energy
Mauritius is subjected to south-east trade winds and north-west
monsoon winds, with an average wind speed of 5.1 m/s [46,47]. As a
consequence, the island has relatively good wind speeds in some areas
for exploitation of wind energy. According to Palanichamy et al. [48],
wind speed in the region of Bigara (near the centre of the island)
averages 6.15 m/s (at 30 m height) while those at Gris Gris (south of
Mauritius) averages 6.07 m/s. Other regions on the island average an
annual speed of 8.0 m/s at 30 m height [28]. Despite that the potential
of wind energy does exist in Mauritius, its exploitation has been very
slow. Previous wind energy projects have been attempted in Mauritius
since 1980 but were met with failures due to damage of the wind
turbines by cyclones as well as lack of government support, among
other factors [48]. More recently, a wind farm of capacity 1.1 MW was
to be commissioned at Bigara but the project was eventually phased out
since the necessary clearance was not obtained [40]. Nonetheless, a
wind farm is now operational in Mauritius at Plaine des Roches since
the beginning of 2016, as depicted in Fig. 3 [49]. The first stage of the
project included 11 turbines with a total capacity of 9.35 MW while the
second stage will include 10 more turbines, increasing the total
electricity production of the wind farm to 14.5 GW h annually [49].
This will increase the share of wind energy to 0.5% for total electricity
production in Mauritius, which is still far from the targeted 8% for
2025 as proposed in the long-term energy strategy 2009–2025 [28].
Another wind farm of capacity 29.4 MW was to be commissioned at
Plaine Sophie by 2010 (Fig. 3), but was later postponed to 2014, then
mid-2016 and more recently, to 2017 [28,40,43]. Future projects for
wind energy exploitation in Mauritius include the commissioning of
20 MW wind farms every 3 years after 2017, as proposed in an updated
energy strategy [43]. Besides, offshore wind energy potential will also
be investigated in the future, as stipulated in the recent budget [44].
3.4. Wave energy
It has long been argued that Mauritius should exploit wave energy
considering that the island is surrounded by the sea. A recent study by
Hammar et al. [50] showed that there is a high potential for wave
energy in Mauritius. In July 2016, Carnegie wave energy together with
the Mauritius Research Council announced the “commissioning of a
wave monitoring buoy off the south coast of Mauritius” [51]. The aim of
this task was to obtain enough data on wave energy resources to
eventually commission wave energy devices (submerged buoys
mounted to pumps) and start tapping renewable wave energy in the
south coast of Mauritius (Fig. 3) [51].
3.5. Ocean thermal energy conversion
Besides wave energy, OTEC systems also represent a potential
source of renewable energy to be exploited in Mauritius considering
that the island forms part of the tropics. This was also confirmed by the
study carried out by Hammar et al. [50]. OTEC systems may be
classified as closed-, open- or hybrid-cycles [52–54]. The underlying
principles behind closed-cycle OTEC systems is that the heat energy of
warm surface sea water is used to evaporate a working fluid (ammonia)
which subsequently drives a turbine and produces electricity in a
generator while cold deep sea water condenses back the ammonia to be
recycled in the process [53,54]. As for open-cycle systems, this consists
of evaporating the warm surface sea water in a low pressure chamber
and the vapour formed drives a turbine, producing electricity in a
Z.M.A. Bundhoo Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 3 viz. slaughterhouse wastes and vinasse [26].

Energy content of sugarcane field-based agricultural residues (Adapted from Ref. [26]
with permission from Elsevier).
3.7.1. Sugarcane plantation
Tops and leaves Dry leaves The sugar industry is one of the main pillars of the Mauritian
economy. In 2015, sugarcane production amounted to 4,009,232 tons
Sugarcane production (tons/year)a 4,009,232
while total sugar production amounted to 366,070 tons [60]. Besides
Dry residues:fresh cane ratiob 0.1:1 0.07:1
Dry residues (tons/year) 400,923 280,646 sugar production, several agricultural residues are produced from
Calorific value (kJ/kg)c 5980 (at 54.5% moisture content) sugarcane plantation ranging from field-based residues such as cane
Calorific value (kJ/kg) 13,143 (100% dry) tops and leaves and process-based residues such as bagasse [26]. In
Energy content (TJ/year) 5269 3688 2015, 1,240,301 tons of bagasse were used to produce 509.8 GW h of
Total energy content (TJ/year) 8958
electricity, representing 17.2% of total electricity generation on the
a
Statistics Mauritius [60]. island [7]. Currently, there are four thermal power plants operating on
b
Panray Beeharry [63]. bagasse in Mauritius (Fig. 3) although three of them also operate on
c
Seebaluck et al. (2008, cited Seebaluck and Sobhanbahu [61]). coal [32]. Alteo Energy Ltd., Terragen Ltd. Omnicane Thermal Energy
Operations Ltd. (La Baraque) operate both on coal and bagasse with
generator, with deep cold sea water subsequently condensing back the installed capacities of 36.7 MW, 71.2 MW and 90.0 MW respectively
vapour into fresh pure water [53,54]. As for the hybrid-cycle, this uses while Médine Sugar Milling Co. Ltd. operates a power plant of installed
the principle of both the closed- and open-cycles [53,54]. capacity 21.7 MW using only bagasse as fuel [32]. Previously,
OTEC systems are considered in this study since Mauritius forms Consolidated Energy Ltd. also operated a thermal power plant using
part of the tropics thereby possessing relatively warm surface sea bagasse as fuel but has now shifted to coal only [32]. As for field-based
waters and cold deep sea waters. Higher temperature difference residues such as cane tops and leaves (also known as trash), these are
between the surface and deep sea water favours OTEC systems. currently left in cane fields [61]. However, these represent a major
Besides, Mauritius is soon embarking on the use of cold deep sea source of untapped renewable energy, as summarised in Table 3,
water for air conditioning buildings in the vicinity of Port-Louis (capital although Alteo Energy Ltd. is considering using sugarcane trash for
of Mauritius) [55]. Since the cold water would already be pumped for electricity production in the near future [62].
the sea water air conditioning (SWAC) project, OTEC could be Besides sugarcane agricultural residues, the sugarcane industry also
integrated with the SWAC project. Consequently, the deep sea water produces molasses which are currently being used to produce bio-
would first be used to condense the working fluid in the OTEC system ethanol in Mauritius. In 2015, 132,244 t of molasses were produced
before being used for air conditioning of building. As it stands, the [60], resulting in the production of 31,739 m3 of bio-ethanol, using a
SWAC project in Mauritius is intending to use the deep sea water for air production ratio of 240 L ethanol per ton molasses [64]. However, the
conditioning and subsequently, using the ‘waste’ water for other production of ethanol also generates another waste product, namely
activities such as aquaculture [55]. With the proposed integration with vinasse, which also possesses an energy potential. For each L of
the OTEC system, the SWAC-OTEC project will gain the added benefit ethanol, 12 L of vinasse is produced [64], resulting in 380,863 m3 of
of producing renewable electricity, which will represent added revenue. vinasse in 2015. Using the methodology from Bundhoo et al. [26], this
corresponded to 118.7 TJ/year of available electrical energy and
3.6. Geothermal energy 137.2 TJ/year of thermal energy from mesophilic anaerobic digestion
of the vinasse.
Geothermal energy has long been considered as a potential renew-
able energy source in Mauritius owing to the volcanic origin of the 3.7.2. Banana plantation
island [56]. A study by the Mauritius Research Council was also Apart from sugarcane agricultural residues, another major crop that
claimed to be highly feasible [57], with no concrete outcomes so far. generates considerable residues in Mauritius is banana plantation.
Due to the highly touted potential of geothermal energy in Mauritius, Each pseudostem of a banana plant produces only one bunch of banana
the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities funded a consultancy project and subsequently, needs to be cut off and this eventually becomes a
in 2012 for investigating the geothermal energy potential in Mauritius waste [65,66]. Besides the pseudostem, other wastes that are generated
[58]. The study was eventually completed in 2015 and the final report include the leaves and stalk/peduncle [26]. In 2015, total banana
observed that while a geothermal gradient of 40 °C/km did exist at production amounted to 8399 tons in Mauritius [60]. This corre-
Nouvelle Découverte (most feasible region in Mauritius for geothermal sponded to 34,940 tons/year of wastes from banana cultivation with
energy exploitation), it was only 1.3 times higher than normal a total energy content of 56.9 TJ/year, as summarised in Table 4.
geothermal gradients [58]. The consultants also discussed that a
temperature of 180 °C could be achieved at a depth of 4.0 km but Table 4
these did not meet the required conditions for “commercially exploi- Energy potential of residues from banana cultivation (Adapted from Ref. [26] with
permission from Elsevier).
table geothermal reservoirs” [58]. Consequently, it was concluded that
geothermal potential for Mauritius is very low and its exploitation in Pseudostem Leaves Stalk/peduncle
Mauritius is not feasible [58].
a
Banana production (tons/year) 8399
Residue:product ratio 2.5:1b 1.5:1b 0.16:1c
3.7. Bio-energy Total residues (tons/year) 20,998 12,599 1344
TS content (%)d 5.2 19.0 5.4
Total dry residues (tons/year) 1095 2391 72
Bio-energy is energy production from any biomass or waste Calorific value (MJ/kg) 13.7b 17.1b 13.7e
materials obtained from biological sources [59]. The biomass or waste Energy content (TJ/year) 15.0 40.9 1.0
materials can be used to produce electricity or biofuels such as biogas, Total energy content (TJ/year) 56.9
bio-diesel or bio-ethanol [59]. In Mauritius, main biomasses include
a
sugarcane agricultural residues (bagasse and trash), banana plantation Statistics Mauritius [60].
b
Sellin et al. [66].
residues (pseudostem, leaves and stalk/peduncle) and Arundo donax c
Souza et al. [67].
while waste materials consist of animal manures, municipal solid d
Bundhoo et al. [26].
e
wastes (MSW), municipal sewage sludge and other industrial wastes Assumed same as pseudostem.

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Table 5 Table 6
Energy potential from animal manures (Adapted from Ref. [26] with permission from Energy potential of organic MSW components in Mauritius.
Elsevier).
MSW components Yard wastes Food wastes Paper
Cattle Goat Sheep Pigs Broilers and
layers MSW in 2014 (tons/year)a 401,785
Fraction (%)b 43.0 25.0 12.0
Number of heads per 6041 26,558 2723 17,511 518,429 Solids content (%)c 42.3 28.0 90.2
yeara Amount dry (tons/year) 73,081 28,125 43,489
Fresh manure (kg/ 12.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 0.2 Calorific value (kJ/kg)c 16,196 15,311 16,679
head/day)b Energy content (TJ/year) 1184 431 725
c d e f
TS content (%) 15.0 33.7 69.5 30.8 25.9g Total energy content (TJ/year) 2340
Total dry manure 4134 4900 1036 3937 9801
(tons/year) a
Statistics Mauritius [36].
Calorific value (MJ/ 18.5 14.0 14.0 11.0 11.0 b
Mohee [80].
kg)h c
Surroop and Juggurnath [81].
Energy content (TJ/ 76.5 68.6 14.5 43.3 107.8
year)
As for MSW, the total amount landfilled in Mauritius averaged
Total energy content 310.7
(TJ/year) 401,785 tons in 2014 [36]. The different components of MSW in
Mauritius are yard wastes (43%), food wastes (25%), plastics (13%),
a
Statistics Mauritius [36]. paper (12%), textile wastes (3%), metal (1%), glass (1%) and others
b
Mosquera et al. [68]. (2%) [80]. From the landfill gas generated in 2015, 20.4 GWh of
c
Munbod [69].
d
Average values from Refs. [70,71].
electricity was produced from a 3.3 MW installed capacity plant
e
Zhang et al. [72]. (Fig. 3), representing 0.7% of total electricity production in Mauritius
f
Alvarez and Lidén [73]. [7,27]. Nonetheless, since the landfill is reaching saturation, alternative
g
Average values from Refs. [74,75]. waste management technologies, particularly WTE techniques, need to
h
Hemstock and Hall [76].
be considered. Considering only the organic components of MSW
(biomass: yard wastes, food wastes and paper), the total energy
3.7.3. Animal manure and paunch manure potential amounts to 2340 TJ/year, as depicted in Table 6.
Besides agricultural residues, another agricultural waste generated While the organic components in Table 6 could be subjected to
in Mauritius is animal manure obtained from rearing of cattle, sheep, thermal processing, the high moisture content of some of the compo-
goats, pigs, broilers and layers [26]. Based on the total amount of nents may decrease the net process efficiency. Consequently, these
manures generated in Mauritius in 2014 and their respective calorific organic components (yard wastes, food wastes and paper) could also be
values, the total energy potential from animal manures averaged subjected to the anaerobic digestion process whereby Bundhoo et al.
310.7 TJ/year in 2014, as summarised in Table 5. [26] reported an available electrical energy output of 214.5 TJ/year
While rearing of livestock and broilers and layers results in manure and thermal energy output of 247.8 TJ/year following mesophilic
generation, slaughtering of these animals for human consumption also anaerobic digestion.
produces a significant amount of slaughterhouse wastes. One of the
major wastes generated in slaughterhouses having high energy poten-
tial is paunch manure/waste. According to Bundhoo et al. [26], the 3.7.6. Used oil
total amount of paunch manure generated in 2014 amounted to Used oil can be classified as used oil derived from petroleum
16,885 t, representing a potential of 25.2 TJ/year of electrical energy products or those derived from plants. Under the term ‘bio-energy’,
and 29.1 TJ/year of thermal energy following mesophilic anaerobic only used oil (extracted from plants) such as used vegetable oil can be
digestion of these wastes and subsequent combustion of the biogas considered as a biomass feedstock. Out of 2900 m3/year of used oil
produced. produced in Mauritius, only 2000 m3 can be recovered [82]. Currently,
a company is recycling the used oil into biodiesel for eventual use as
3.7.4. Arundo donax cultivation transportation fuel [82]. The company is presently producing 600 L/
Arundo donax is one energy crop that has been recently gaining day of biodiesel from 700 L/day of used oil and intends to start
increasing interest in Mauritius. In 2013, total Arundo donax produc- producing biodiesel from oil derived from algae [82]. Likewise, another
tion (dry basis) averaged 450 t/year in Mauritius [26]. With an average company intends to produce biodiesel from 5000 L/day of oil extracted
energy content of 18.91 MJ/kg [77,78], this corresponds to 8.51 TJ/ from algae [82].
year. With a forecasted production of Arundo donax of 75,000 t/year in
the short-term and 300,000 t/year in the long-term [26], Arundo
donax represents a huge potential of renewable energy production 3.8. Summary of renewable energy in Mauritius
for Mauritius.
As reviewed in this section, sugarcane bagasse combustion for
3.7.5. Municipal wastes electricity production is the major contributor of renewable energy in
Municipal wastes can be classified as municipal sewage sludge and Mauritius followed hydroelectricity while solar and wind energy are
MSW. As deduced by Bundhoo et al. [26], primary sludge generated in now being increasingly exploited. While the potential for new hydro-
Mauritius amounted to 124,380 t/year while the total amount of electric power plants is low in Mauritius, other renewable energy
secondary sludge was 430,515 t/year. According to the same authors, resources such as wave energy and bio-energy from biomass and waste
if the sludges are subjected to mesophilic anaerobic digestion, a total of materials (huge energy potential of 12 PJ/year) are yet to be exploited.
10.8 TJ/year of electrical energy and 12.5 TJ/year of thermal energy Furthermore, as observed from Fig. 3, the potential commissioning of a
could be available for final energy consumption [26]. Currently, only considerable number of solar PV plants across the island as well as
one wastewater treatment plant is equipped with a mesophilic anae- more wind farms demonstrate the willingness and the shift towards
robic digester whereby secondary thickened sludge is digested to renewable energy. Although the potential for renewable energy is huge
produce biogas which is combusted for electricity production [79]. in Mauritius, proper energy policies and appropriate legal and institu-
The electrical energy generated is used to account for 25–27% of the tional frameworks are of utmost importance for facilitating the
energy demand of the treatment plant [79]. deployment of renewable energy.

6
Z.M.A. Bundhoo Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 7
Legal and institutional frameworks governing the energy sector in Mauritius [83].

Frameworks Objective

Legal
Electricity Act 1939 To authorise any person, company or authority to supply electricity in Mauritius
CEB Act 1963 To establish the CEB and ensure its proper functioning
Energy Efficiency Act 2011 To help establish the Energy Efficiency Management Office (EEMO) and ensure its proper functioning
Mauritius Renewable Energy Act 2015 To help establish the Mauritius Renewable Energy Agency (MARENA) and oversee its proper functioning
Institutional
CEB Generation, distribution and transmission of electricity in Mauritius
EEMO Sensitise energy users and develop policies on efficient use of energy
MARENA Supervise the implementation of renewable energy projects as well as develop renewable energy strategies in Mauritius
CEB Green Energy Co. Ltd. (Not yet operational) Promote and facilitate green energy development in Mauritius

4. Energy policy in Mauritius
To ensure sustainable energy production and distribution while
ensuring energy security, a proper energy policy is of fundamental
importance. In Mauritius, there are two policies with regards to energy
namely the long-term energy strategy (2009–2025) and the integrated
electricity plan (2013–2022) [5].
4.1. Long-term energy strategy (2009–2025)
The main goal of the long-term energy strategy was to diversify the
energy mix in Mauritius with renewable energy bringing more con-
tribution, as summarised in Table 1. Consequently, the long-term
energy strategy proposed potential sources of renewable energy for
Mauritius while also considering other energy aspects viz. regulatory
and institutional frameworks, energy efficiency, energy access, financial
incentives with respect to long-term energy strategy, amongst others
[28]. While several schemes have been set-up for promotion of
renewable energy in Mauritius such as the grant of MUR 10,000 for
the purchase of a solar water heater, the feed-in tariff and net-metering
schemes for the commissioning of micro-hydro power plants, PV
systems and wind turbines [28,39,40], there is still much more to be
exploited to achieve the target of 35% for renewable energy contribu-
tion for total electricity production in Mauritius, as set in the long-term
energy strategy.
From Table 1, it was planned that geothermal energy would
contribute to 2% of total electricity production in Mauritius [28].
However, as reported in this study, geothermal energy is not feasible
for Mauritius [58], implying that the anticipated 2% of total electricity
production from geothermal energy by 2025 must be disregarded.
Furthermore, WTE is expected to contribute to 4% of total electricity
production in Mauritius by 2025 [28]. However, this considers mainly
MSW while animal and paunch manures also possess huge energy
potential but are not considered in the long-term energy strategy.
Likewise, the long-term energy strategy only considers sugarcane
bagasse as biomass for electricity production while field-based agri-
cultural residues from banana and sugarcane plantation as well as
energy crops such as Arundo donax are not considered although these
represent a huge potential for bio-energy production. If the bio-energy
potential of biomass and waste materials other than MSW is consid-
ered, the 35% of total electricity production from renewable energy by
2025 can be easily met and even exceeded.
4.2. Integrated electricity plan (2013–2022)
The integrated electricity plan prepared by the CEB aims at
providing a direction for electricity generation, transmission and
distribution over a 10-year period [40]. By forecasting future electricity
demand, the plan ensures that the need for more electrical energy will
be met in the future, thereby balancing demand-supply and alleviating
any fears of blackout [40]. Other goals of the plan include assessment
and optimization of current systems of electricity generation while
considering future projects that will supply the increasing need for
more electrical energy in addition to considering the environmental
and economic aspects of electricity generation [40]. The major energy
projects proposed in the integrated electricity plan to meet the
increasing electricity demand of Mauritius include a 100 MW coal
power plant by 2016, the commissioning and operation of a 29.4 MW
wind farm at Plaine Sophie by end 2014 and a 15 MW solar PV farm
[40]. However, only the 15 MW solar PV farm is currently operational
while the 100 MW coal power plant and the 29.4 MW wind farm are yet
to be commissioned. Without these two major energy generation
plants, there is a major concern about the capacity to meet the
increasing electricity demand of Mauritius and this also questions the
effectiveness of the integrated electricity plan with respect to meeting
this objective.
5. Legal and institutional frameworks governing energy in
Mauritius
Legal and institutional frameworks are necessary to ensure that
energy is produced and supplied in a sustainable way as well as abiding
by all relevant regulations in a country. Most of the acts governing
energy in Mauritius have been passed for the establishment of
institutional frameworks to oversee the development of the energy
sector in Mauritius, as summarised in Table 7.
As observed from Table 7, several legal and institutional frame-
works exist in Mauritius for overseeing the development of the energy
sector. For the renewable energy sector to develop appropriately, each
institution must be able to operate effectively without too much inter-
dependence. However, it is observed that the MARENA and the CEB
Green Energy Co. Ltd. may duplicate tasks related to renewable energy.
Consequently, each institution must operate within a specific boundary
without interfering in another institution. Furthermore, while any
potential renewable energy project requires an environment impact
assessment license prior to implementation, the social impact assess-
ment should also be carried out. The Mauritius renewable energy act
can thus be amended to include the social impact assessment criteria
which will ensure that the social life of any inhabitants is respected and
not negatively impacted with the implementation of a renewable energy
project.
6. Challenges to address for promotion of renewable energy
in Mauritius
Renewable energy has long been recognised for its positive envir-
onmental benefits over fossil fuels, leading to improved health condi-
tions [12]. However, renewable energy also possesses other benefits
such as its significant impact on socio-economic life through job
creation, income generation through rental of land for renewable
energy projects or though the sale of agricultural residues such as
animal manures, better standard of living, higher education and

7
Z.M.A. Bundhoo
business activities in areas previously without electricity as well as a
certain peace of mind free from the insecurity surrounding the use of
fossil fuels [12,84]. These socio-economic impacts can be measured
through changes in social and economic indicators such as human
development index and gross domestic product/capita. Despite these
benefits of renewable energy and although a considerable effort has
been made to facilitate its exploitation in Mauritius, there still exist
some challenges that need to be overcome for further increasing the
share of renewable energy in the energy mix of Mauritius.
6.1. Public awareness
It is human nature to be reluctant to changes particularly when
existing practices are actually favourable. To trigger the shift towards a
renewable energy system, it is important that the general public is
made aware of the benefits of the new system and whether it is more
advantageous over his/her existing practices (for example: costs,
availability), how it will affect his/her daily life and more importantly,
how to shift towards the new system (for instance: installation,
infrastructure). The current lack of awareness on renewable energy
technologies represents a major hindrance. A recent survey in
Mauritius in 2012 showed that out of the households not interested
to buy a solar heater, 51.8% thought that it was not necessary [36]. This
is only because these people were not properly informed of the
advantages of solar water heaters in the first instance (for example:
reduction on LPG consumption and savings made). Consequently,
sensitisation campaigns need to be more rigorous and frequent to help
people change their mindset and help them accept renewable energy
technologies.
6.2. Technical know-how
While the general public is often unaware of the benefits of
renewable energy technologies, the lack of technical know-how from
potential promoters of renewable energy projects also hinder the
implementation on large scale. A simple example is the implementation
of WTE technologies in Mauritius. Most of the local companies
proposing WTE projects do not have any technical know-how of the
technologies they are proposing (incineration, gasification, pyrolysis or
anaerobic digestion). Consequently, they take international companies
as partners who simply transfer their technology to Mauritius without
adapting it to the local context. This problem could be solved by taking
on board local experts on renewable energy who will eventually bridge
the gap between the local promoters and the international experts.
6.3. Cost of renewable energy
Although several financial incentives have been put in place to
promote renewable energy in Mauritius such as the grant for purchase
of solar water heaters and the future removal of value-added tax on PV
inverters and batteries, renewable energy is still expensive in
Mauritius. From the survey carried out in 2012, 40.5% of the house-
holds opting not to purchase a solar water heater deemed it too
expensive [36]. Besides solar water heater, PV panels are also very
expensive to purchase on a household level in Mauritius.
6.4. Low cost of petroleum products
LPG, which is used as cooking gas in Mauritius, is much cheaper as
compared to renewable energy. In the recent budget 2016/2017, the
government further announced that the price of an LPG cylinder of
12 kg would be reduced from MUR 330 to MUR 270 [85]. Although
this measure is favourable for low- and middle-income households, it
also drives the preference of Mauritians towards LPG, in a context
where renewable energy should be privileged. As such, although the
cost of LPG is reduced to help low-income households, the reduction in
8
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
the cost of renewable energy technologies such as solar water heaters,
PV systems and domestic anaerobic digesters must be higher so as to
promote renewable energy.
6.5. Intermittency of renewable energies
Renewable energies such as wind and solar energy (with hydro-
power to a lower extent) are known to be intermittent sources of
energy. As a consequence, many people favour the use of fossil fuels
due to its availability. However, while renewable energies are inter-
mittent, several techniques are available for storing renewable energy.
In off-peak periods, excess electrical energy from renewable sources
can be stored as electric potential energy in capacitors, as electric
current or magnetic energy in superconducting magnetic energy
storage systems, as gravitational potential energy in pumped hydro-
electric energy storage systems, as elastic potential energy in com-
pressed air energy storage systems, as kinetic energy in flywheels, as
chemical energy in fuel cells, as electrochemical energy in batteries, as
thermochemical energy in the form of solar fuels (although this is more
suitable for solar energy storage) and as thermal energy in specific
energy storage medium [86–92]. The stored energy can then be
converted back to electrical energy when the renewable source is not
available (for example: at night when there is no sun) or in peak
periods. Besides, although fossil fuels are perceived as being constantly
available, the associated insecurity risks should discourage its use.
Consequently, there is a whole awareness campaign that needs to be
carried out to impart this knowledge to the general public as well as
renewable energy investors.
6.6. Optimization problems
While renewable energy has its obvious advantages, it also pos-
sesses some disadvantages such as high cost, intermittency and
unpredictability while the implementation of a renewable energy
system raises additional concerns about its location (land cost, land
availability), choice of renewable energy source (hydropower, wind, or
solar energy), potential of renewable energy (wind speed, solar
irradiation rate), design and sizing of the renewable energy structure
and integration into the grid network [93–95]. For instance, a location
with high wind energy potential may either be very expensive or very
difficult to connect to the grid. Similarly, a particular design or size of a
renewable energy structure may be more profitable in the long run
while the initial investments costs may be very high. Likewise, it may be
more economically feasible using a hybrid renewable energy system
coupling solar with wind energy than a single renewable energy source
[96]. As such, optimization is important so that a sort of ‘compromise’
is reached among the aforementioned problems. This will ensure that
the renewable energy system is efficient and reliable while costs
(investments, operational and maintenance) are minimised and energy
production and revenues are maximised [93,95,97]. These optimiza-
tion techniques also ensure the effective placement of the renewable
energy structure and ascertain that the appropriate design and size of
the renewable energy system have been chosen while causing minimal
environmental and social impacts [93,95]. The different techniques
that have been employed for optimization of renewable energy systems
include artificial neural networks and other heuristic-based approaches
such as genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization, among
others [93–95,98]. These techniques may serve as a guide for
exploitation of renewable energy in Mauritius by ensuring the deploy-
ment of efficient and reliable renewable energy systems that have
minimum social and environmental impacts and minimised cost of
operation but maximum energy production and revenues.
Furthermore, these optimization techniques may also ensure that
resources are effectively utilised and that there is a spatial distribution
of renewable energy over the whole island, facilitating connection with
the grid for transmission and distribution of electricity.
Z.M.A. Bundhoo
7. Conclusions
Mauritius is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels for its energy
requirements. Among the renewable energies, sugarcane bagasse
combustion for electricity generation is still the main contributor
followed by hydroelectricity. Nonetheless, renewable energy from
hydropower has been tapped to a major extent and future potentials
are meagre. Over the past few years, a lot of effort has been made to
shift towards other renewable energies such as solar and wind energy.
Several schemes have been introduced in an attempt to promote mainly
solar and wind energy exploitation such as grants on solar water
heaters, feed-in tariffs and net-metering schemes. However, as ob-
served in this review, this has brought a very minor contribution to the
total energy mix of the island. Nonetheless, it is expected that with the
potential projects outlined in this study, the contribution of solar and
wind energy will significantly increase in the future.
Besides hydropower, solar and wind energy, renewable energy from
the ocean is surprisingly unexplored in Mauritius. While wave energy
resources are now being monitored with a view of commissioning wave
energy devices, it is also expected that OTEC systems will receive future
deliberation, considering that Mauritius is a tropical island with warm
surface sea waters and cold deep ocean waters. As for geothermal
energy, often claimed as a promising renewable energy resource for
Mauritius, it was found to be unfeasible for the island, with low
potential for exploitation. Furthermore, this study revealed that while
bio-energy from biomass and waste materials represents a considerable
source of renewable energy (12 PJ/year excluding sugarcane bagasse),
this is currently untapped in Mauritius. If the aim of 35% of total
electricity production in Mauritius is to be met by 2025, as targeted in
the long-term energy strategy 2009–2025, the appropriate infrastruc-
ture and incentives will need to be provided to encourage bio-energy
exploitation. Besides, the several barriers hindering renewable energy
exploitation in Mauritius, as outlined in this article, will also need to be
overcome. With the contribution of all these renewable energies, it can
then be expected that the target set by 2025 will be met.
This article also revealed that while Mauritius has the appropriate
energy policies and legal and institutional frameworks governing the
energy sector, it must be ensured that any potential renewable energy
project does not negatively impact on social life. It must also be
ensured that any renewable energy system is optimized so as to obtain
the most efficient output. Furthermore, some of the institutions need to
properly define their objectives so as not to interfere with one another.
Finally, a new energy strategy needs to be devised to increase the
relatively low target of 35% of electricity generated from renewable
energies so that Mauritius can then be considered as being sustainable
in the energy field, with an assurance on energy security and far from
the uncertainties surrounding fossil fuels.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their
constructive criticism. This research did not receive any specific grant
from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit
sectors.
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