Solar desalination, an obvious solution for the islands of the Indian Ocean: Example of Rodrigues, Mauritius

The archipelagos of the Indian Ocean, Maldives, Mascareignes, Seychelles and Comoros have limited water resources and are subject to two pressing constraints: population growth (rising demand) and the Climate change (decline in natural resources).

The substantial costs of supplying conventional fossil resources for the production of electricity on these islands allows renewable energies to be far more competitive.

The use of renewable energies for fresh water production from seawater constitutes an important opportunity for the inhabitants of these islands.

The political leaders of Rodrigues, the islands of the Republic of Mauritius, have the vision of addressing the challenges of the water supply of its inhabitants with renewable energies. The discussion have been initiatied with Mascara with this objective in mind, and is leading to the launch of a first solar desalination project, without battery.

The local newspaper Le Mauricien presents the situation of the island and the prospects offered by the installation of a first solar desalination plant OSMOSUN® in 2017.