nFrom left: Tui Vuda Ratu Eparama Tavaiqia, French ambassador to Fiji Gilles Montagnier, Attorney General and Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Total Fiji managing director Sylvain Quemeneur and Total Asia Pacific deputy VP Operations Pierre Emmanuel Bredin at Vuda yesterday.
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Total (Fiji) Limited yesterday launched a 67KW photovoltaic solar system at its Vuda terminal, as it moves from being a traditional fuel company to establishing itself as an energy provider.
This system includes 204 Sun Power E20 panels and according to Total, is capable of generating over 100MWh per year.
Total (Fiji) managing director, Sylvain Quemeneur this was a pilot project and would transfer excess power to the Fiji Electricity Authority.
This would be done via a grid connected system, and is also expected to consume power from the grid when solar power generation is low, as well as at night.
Attorney-General and Minister for Industry and Trade Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said a production of renewal energy by a fossil fuel and energy company was very timely.
This taking into account the processes and new systems put in place by the Fijian Government.
“You may have heard the need of IPPs (Independent Power Producers) to have certainty in the market, and the Commerce Commission only last week determined that the price payable to IPPs is now 33.0 cents per unit.
“This is a huge amount increase from the 23 cents that they had determined previously.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum noted presently, the approximate cost of generating a unit of electricity is, through diesel or fuel in Fiji, about 48 cents per unit.
From hydro, he said, it is approximately 12 cents a unit, with electricity for households at about 33 cents a unit.
French Ambassador to Fiji Gilles Montagnier was also present to officiate the launch by the French-owned oil company.
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