SARKOZY: REUNIONISLAND: NATIONAL LABORATORY FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION.

Saint Pierre, ReunionIsland, January 17^th 2010:

The French President, Nicolas SARKOZY, with a delegation of ministers and important company’s corporate executives (EDF, DCNS, RENAUT, ...) has come to ReunionIslandto inaugurate AKUO’s agri-solar photovoltaic park located in Pierrefonds. He also took advantage of this visit to present the outlines of ReunionIsland project aiming at the energy self-sufficiency with no CO₂ emission by 2030.

REUNIONISLAND, TERRITORY OF EXCELLENCEFOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

“Regarding Renewable energies and reduction of greenhouse gases emission, ReunionIslandwill show the way, and it is ReunionIsland that will become a French benchmark and even a worldwide reference!” declared Nicolas Sarkozy.  

For 10 years, thanks to the involvement and undertaken efforts of the local authorities and the Regional Council President Paul Vergès, Reunion Island has become a place of excellence regarding energy saving and renewable energy. With 37% of clean and renewable electricity produced against 12% in continental France, the French President considered however that ReunionIsland has “the potential to see even further and to set its sights higher”.

He mentioned the national program GERRI* which aims at making Reunion Island the first self-sufficient territory in terms of energy by 2030, while the importations in this field currently represent 500 million euros a year.

REUNION ISLAND, DEMONSTRATIONPLACEFOROCEANTHERMAL ENERGY.

Nicolas Sarkozy also highlighted the precursor role of ReunionIslandin terms of Ocean thermal energy, i.e. in the production of electricity thanks to the OTEC* and in the production of cold and air-conditioning or SWAC*.

Accompanied by M. Boissier, the corporate executive of the first European military shipbuilder DCNS, the French President appointed ReunionIslandas the place of demonstration and experimentation for the OTEC.

It means that this project carried out by DCNS in ReunionIslandwould have priority regarding the “big national loan”: “These are investment priority as part of the big national loan”.

Thanks to the co-financing of an OTEC pilot power plant in ReunionIslandthrough the big national loan, the studies started on the project since beginning of 2009, should then become a reality. This project launched for about a year now in Reunion Island is carried out and financed (global current budget of 7.7million euros) by DCNS and the Regional Council, with the financial participation of the French State Government and followed by the ARER*  for the exchange and consultation beside the local institutions.

Finally, in terms of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, the French President saluted the SWAC project led by the towns of Saint Denis and Sainte Marie and aiming at providing air-conditioning to an urban network thanks to deep sea cold water. This project is in progress, carried out by these local authorities and supported by GERRI. It would be the first project in the World to extend the marine cold water air-conditioning network in urban area.

REUNIONISLAND, FULL SIZE LABORATORY FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

In addition to DCNS, a large amount of corporate executives of important French companies (EDF, General electric, Groupe Hayot, RENAULT, TOTAL) came with the President, in particular for the signature of a statement of intent regarding the “Green Project” (electric vehicles for a technological Reunion Island): “ From 2011, the first electric vehicles would be produced by Renault”, stated the French State President.

The Island “will be the first user en masse of these battery-driven electric vehicles, thanks to the financial support of the national loan, but also thanks to the involvement of trade centres, of local authorities, of electricity and fuel distributors”, underlined Nicolas Sarkozy.

To reach this target, “It is necessary to launch as soon as today the construction of efficient facilities to recharge the batteries of these electric vehicles” added the French State President, saying that he has already asked the French secretary of State in ecology, Chantal Jouanno, and the prefect, Pierre-Henry Maccioni, “to coordinate actively the efforts and national financial supports”.