Page 326 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

Mauritius Island Nation Chapter j 15 299

to cater to the substantial energy requirements of coastal regions, where
luxury hotels and other tourist facilities are located. Although tidal systems,
wave power, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) are emerging as
plausible technologies, many challenges impede their progress. Wave and tidal
power technologies can be cost prohibitive and pose environmental threats.
OTEC, which exploits the natural thermal gradient at different depths of the
ocean as a heat engine, is under serious consideration by local authorities.
Results on OTEC from research conducted at the National Energy Laboratory
of Hawaii have been promising (Scientific American, 2016). The ancillary
benefits of OTEC, including desalinated water, air-conditioning, and marine
culture, may make the technology attractive to investors. Provision of cooling
to hotels and buildings in the coastal capital city of Port Louis has the potential
to serve average and peak load to a significant degree. For this purpose, the
Government of Mauritius has already received funding from the African
Development Bank for the first phase of the Deep Ocean Water Application
(DOWA) project, which consists of implementing a 44-MW Energy Transfer
Station to pump deep ocean cold water for building air-conditioning. It is
expected that this initial phase of DOWA will curtail the peak power on the
grid by about 26 MW (ADB, 2014b).

Biofuels
The global production and use of liquid biofuels increased in 2013 (REN21,
2014). In Mauritius, reengineering of the sugarcane industry following the
expiration of sugar quotas has catalyzed the production of sugarcane-based
ethanol. Ethanol is obtained from the processing of the juice resulting from
the crushing of sugarcane. As such, the production of ethanol does not
compete with bagasse. It is estimated that 86 L of ethanol can be produced
from 1 ton of sugarcane (Nguyen et al., 2009; Macedo et al., 2008). Based on
the local sugar production of 4.5 million tons in 2011, the production capacity
of ethanol is estimated at 360 million liters annually. Ethanol is emerging as a
low-carbon alternative for fossil fuels in both the transportation and electricity
generation sectors. A study conducted by Silalertruksa et al. (2015) revealed
that only 390 g of CO 2 are emitted during the production of 1 L of ethanol,
whereas producing an equal quantity of gasoline releases 2210 g of CO 2 (IPCC,
2007). The introduction of biofuels in the transportation sector in Mauritius was
planned to be started in 2010 (Elahee, 2011). Tests performed in Mauritius have
already demonstrated the feasibility of 10% substitution of petrol by ethanol
(E10) for use in vehicles. As highlighted in the section Hydrogen Power and
Electric Vehicles, the decarbonization of the transportation sector will have to
follow an evolutionary path, and the use of E10 can be the starting point of this
development. Ethanol can also be used as a substitute for HFO in thermal power
plants so that the latter can be retrofitted to exploit the local production of
ethanol for electricity generation. In 2010, the first ethanol-fired power plant