President James Michel and his delegation have met with the President and CEO of KC Cottrell, Mr. Tae Young Lee, to discuss renewable energy projects for La Digue island.
 
KC Cottrell, which has already undertaken a fact finding mission to Seychelles following the official visit of President Michel in 2009, has proposed to the Government of Seychelles a pilot project for the sustainable energy for La Digue including solar power and electric vehicles. The company has also offered to undertake a feasibility study for the introduction of solar powered energy for government housing and hotel sectors in Seychelles.
 
Following the visit and further discussions with the Minister of Environment and Energy, Dr Rolph Payet, the Ministry of Environment and Energy will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the company to undertake appropriate feasibility studies and sourcing of appropriate investments for the project. It is expected that the full details of the projects will be finalised before the end of the year.
 
The two sides also discussed aspects of training and capacity building in this new area of development which is expected to create new jobs and opportunities for young Seychellois. The objective of Government is to meet 10% or more of the national electricity consumption of Seychelles through solar photovoltaic energy technologies.
 
As global escalation in the price of oil continues to affect small economies such as Seychelles, investment in renewable energy is one way of reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuels and relieving the pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.
 
KC Cotrell is a leading environmental technology company of South Korea, established in 1973 with a global network of offices in China, Europe and the USA.