The firm's bid emerged among the top three of the 56 submitted by leading solar PV developers across the globe, the company said in a statement. "Astonfield is one of only three companies to have been awarded this tender capturing 40% of the allocated projects," said the company, which has operations spread across India, eastern Africa and the Middle East.
The company plans to invest about $8.2 million to develop the projects, with two major local banks vying to provide the financing. The first 2 mw project to be located in La Gaulette will be developed by Astonfield while the second project, to be located in Union Flacq, will be developed in partnership with Alteo Energy.
Co-chairman and director of Astonfield Renewables, Ameet Shah said, "With this additional capacity, Mauritius is positioning itself to be the clean energy hub for not only its territory but also East Africa as we are determined to use the country as a platform for financing activities, engineering and project management related work."
Shah, who was appointed to the prestigious US Department of Commerce Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, added, "Mauritius has taken a bold step in reducing its dependency on fossil fuels, especially being such a small island and much more vulnerable to climate change. Since the country benefits from great solar resources throughout the year, it makes sense to make the most out of it. These projects are in synch with the Maurice Ile Durable concept."