Grid-connected Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems project 2010-2014

The objective of the project is to increase the use of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems as a sustainable means of generating electricity in selected main islands and smaller islands of the Seychelles, with a focus on small-scale producers who are already connected to the national electricity grid.

The project will pursue this objective by, inter alia:

• revising the legal, regulatory and policy framework to better support the adoption of renewable energy technologies, grid connected PV systems in particular;
• designing and implementing financial mechanisms that will make the purchase and installation of solar PV systems more attractive to Independent Power Producers;
• establishing a market supply chain for solar PV systems in the country; providing training to establish technicians to support the installation and maintece of PV systems;
• and demonstrating for the first time in the Seychelles the viability and practicality of grid-connected PV systems through pilot systems installed with various partners.

Together, these actions are designed to play a critical role in “jump-starting” the adoption of solar PV technology in the Seychelles, and in setting the stage for wide-scale replication by reducing the costs of PV technology through a market-based approach that will establish financial incentive mechanisms for PV systems and reduce transaction costs (by creating a reliable supply chain and establishing local capacity for installation and maintece).