The government of Seychelles has announced a partnership with International Solar Alliance (ISA) for development of a solar-powered cold storage.
Minister of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert confirmed the partnership and said the project is part of the ministry’s plan to address the many challenges facing the agriculture sector in Seychelles and will also provide training and job opportunities to the inhabitants.
The facility will be developed on La Digue Island. It will be 5 metric tonnes of cold storage capacity which will increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, reduce food wastage and increase income levels.
Renewable energy
In addition, Joubert highlighted the various initiatives Seychelles is undertaking in line with the country’s commitment to fighting climate change. He placed emphasis on the need to work closely with partners like ISA in order to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.
The International Solar Alliance, an inter-governmental organisation, has been helping 110 member countries to scale up solar and make it a preferred source of energy. The ISA is guided by its ‘Towards 1000’ strategy which aims to mobilise USD 1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030, while delivering energy access to 1,000 million people using clean energy solutions and resulting in installation of 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity.
This would help mitigate global solar emissions to the tune of 1,000 million tonnes of CO2 every year. For meeting these goals, the ISA takes a programmatic approach. Currently, the ISA has 9 comprehensive programmes, each focusing on a distinct application that could help scale deployment of solar energy solutions. Activities under the programmes focuses on 4 priority areas – Analytics & Advocacy, Capacity Building, Programmatic Support, and readiness and enabling activities, that help create a favourable environment for solar energy investments to take root in the country.
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