Aerowatt to roll out 40 MW of wind power in Mauritius - report

(ADPnews) - Aug 9, 2010 - French wind and photovoltaic (PV) energy producer Aerowatt SA (EPA:ALWAT) is developing two wind power projects, with a combined capacity of 40 MW, on the Mauritius island.

Olivier Gaering, Aerowatt's head of International Development, said for Bloomberg in a telephone interview on Friday that the first 18 MW facility will be built near the village of Plaine des Roches. Estimated at the cost of EUR 14 million (USD 18m), the site will be completed within a year after start of construction in early 2011. It will be financed with the proceeds secured from the sale of 210,000 carbon credits to the Swedish government.

"We're in the process of negotiating a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Mauritius' central electricity board and expect this to be finalized in the third quarter", Gaering said.

The second project -- 22 MW wind farm will be located near Britannia. It will be rolled out in cooperation with the Mauritian sugarcane and ethanol producer Omnicane Ltd. According to Gaering, the project is currently nearing finalisation and should reach completion in early 2012.

Besides Mauritius, French Aerowatt is developing projects in other African countries including Morocco and Senegal.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.328)

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