VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Island Conservation Society of Seychelles has completed the installation of a new solar power system on Aride Island, supplied and fitted over five days by local Seychellois-owned company Energy Solutions Seychelles. The system, which includes solar panels expected to last 25 years, lithium-ion batteries, and inverters with a 15-year lifespan, is designed to deliver long-term energy independence for the island’s research and conservation staff.
To maximise efficiency, a climate-controlled plant room has been installed to host the new equipment, ensuring stable operating temperatures and reducing wear on the batteries and inverters. The Island Conservation Society said the new system replaces a diesel generator that previously had to be shipped in periodically, with all the logistical costs and carbon emissions that entailed.
The next big sustainability project on Aride is the installation of the island’s first desalination plant. Drinking water is currently transported from Praslin, but plans are now under way to install a desalination unit, providing the island with a self-sufficient, potable water supply and removing the need for scheduled boat deliveries.
The solar initiative is being described as more than a technological upgrade, embodying the conservation ethos that has defined the reserve since it was established. Aride, one of the most important seabird colonies in the Indian Ocean, is also home to endemic reptiles and plants found nowhere else in Seychelles, and the society said the move to clean energy was an extension of its environmental mission.
