EU Green Deal: Unlock new market opportunities in Europe
2 Déc 2024
Mauritius welcomes investment and embraces business. Globally recognised as a safe, stable and easy environment to conduct business, Mauritius is a great place to invest, work, live and retire, with future ready infrastructure, global connectivity and world class talent.
Invest in a project of at least Rs 500 million and take advantage of incentives, rebates, exemptions and preferential rates.
Leverage on our unparallel preferential market access to 68% of the world’s population and benefits from a panoply of Free Trade Agreements.
Mauritius’ residence program allows foreign nationals to make a real estate investment into the country and apply for a residence permit to live, work, and retire in Mauritius.
Live and work remotely from Mauritius and experience a long stay or retire in a picture-perfect tropical paradise.
Leverage on our unparallel preferential market access to 68% of the world’s population and benefits from a panoply of Free Trade Agreements.
Mauritius emits 0.01% of the Global GHG emissions, and yet, the country is committed to its pledge towards a sustainable and low-carbon economy through the implementation of a multi-fold strategy including:
Mauritius firmly intends to reduce its dependency on imported fossil by setting out an ambitious target of 60% of renewable energy in the electricity mix by 2025.
The 2030 Renewable Energy Roadmap provides for an estimated investment of USD 1.35 billion in the sector by horizon 2030, encompassing generation from solar and floating solar, wind, biomass, hybrid renewable systems as well as marine renewables, among others.
During the past few years, over 120 MW of installed capacity of wind and solar farms have been commissioned. A project pipeline of solar and solar with battery support (BESS) comprising projects of an aggregated capacity of 376.8 MW is underway necessitating an investment of USD 625 million. The materialisation of these projects will substantially increase the renewable energy contribution in the electricity mix to over 40%.
Renewable energy projects in Mauritius can either be commissioned through the execution of public tenders or under the various schemes of the Central Electricity Board. Over 280 projects for a total effective capacity of 235 MW and 8 projects representing a total effective capacity of 140 MW are being incepted under the various CEB schemes and tenders respectively.
The introduction of new schemes for the agricultural sector, ICT and other sectors will further boost capacity addition. Moreover, the 2024/2025 National Budget provides for measures incentivising storage which will further broaden the scope of opportunities in the sector.
Following the adoption of the Biomass framework, the services of the African Legal Service Facility has been enlisted to finalise the model contract agreement for biomass. This will subsequently unleash new opportunities in the expansion of the biomass sector.
In view of further consolidating the grid, an additional 20-Megawatt Battery Energy Storage System will be set up and 150,000 smart metres will be installed over the next two years.
RE Generation and Storage
Government Support Agreement
Concessional loans:
Annual allowance in respect of the capital expenditure incurred on:
Solar Energy Investment Allowance
Exempt Income for investment in green projects:
Buy back Guarantee:
No restriction on production site
Exemption from Land Conversion Tax:
Valued Added Tax and Excise Duty
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A multi-fold strategy is essential to match the ambitious target of Mauritius in greening up its economy. Consequently, it is imperative to target a net zero approach for the various economic sectors in Mauritius.
Industrial operators in Mauritius are being incentivized to offset their energy consumption by producing electricity from renewable energy sources both onsite and offsite with a guaranteed buy back. Fiscal incentives and soft loans will accompany these industries in their energy transition process. These incentives have been extended to accommodate for battery storage.
Moreover, an agrivoltaics scheme, providing for a purchase price of electricity produced at MUR 5 per KWH and an ICT Sector Carbon Neutral Scheme with purchase of excess electricity produced at Rs 4.20 per kWh are being introduced. Government has also launched a programme for equipping public buildings with roof top solar generation facilities.
In its bid to green up the transportation sector, Government is encouraging transport operators, corporates and individuals to shift to electric mobility. To this end, excise duty on hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have been removed and, a negative excise duty of 10% to a maximum of MUR 200,000 is being provided for the purchase of electric vehicles. Moreover, the bus modernization has been extended to June 2025. The CEB will also install prepaid public charging stations across the island.
The Metro Express which is spearheading the modernization of the transport system in Mauritius will be extended with the development of a master plan develop to connect the Metro
Express to the North, South, East and West.
Private sector operators in the industrial and commercial sectors are being encouraged to adopt innovative solutions such as micro waste to value facilities and high efficiency equipment to green up operations and decrease their operational costs.
The EDB is also working on the development framework for sustainable cities with strict environmental requirements and green buildings that will be subject to sustainable building certifications such as LEED, BREEAM and Africa Star, among others.
Solar Energy Investment Allowance
Concessional loans:
Annual allowance in respect of the capital expenditure incurred on:
Exempt Income for investment in green projects:
Buy back Guarantee:
No restriction on production site
Exemption from Land Conversion Tax:
Valued Added Tax and Excise Duty
Fast charger for electric car investment allowance
Claim on electric motor vehicles
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Decreasing energy consumption by adopting energy efficient technologies is fundamental to the energy transition of Mauritius. Mauritius aims at increasing its energy efficiency to 10% by 2030. To this effect the Energy Efficiency Management Office has taken a series of measures including classification and labelling of electrical appliances and lighting equipment, mandatory energy audits for large energy consumers, and the introduction of energy efficiency parameters in public procurement.
Upcoming projects in the field of energy efficiency are as follows:
Concessional Loan:
Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme for the implementation of energy-saving measures by the DBM.
Exempt Income for investment in green projects:
Annual allowance in respect of the capital expenditure incurred on:
Mauritius ambitions to emerge as a regional leader in the development and testing of innovative renewable energy technologies. To this effect, the MARENA, in collaboration with the CEB launched the National Scheme for Emerging/Innovative Renewable Energy Technologies which allows the on-grid testing of renewable energy technologies.
The first agrivoltaics farm of an installed capacity of 200 KW has been commissioned under this scheme and is being extended over 1 MW. Other projects, which are at different phases of implementation include high-altitude wind project (SKY sails), Waste to Hydrogen, HBOX (Hydrogen On-Board Generator), Waste to Energy & Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion.
The Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change endorsed a request to secure technical assistance from the UN Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN) for an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) project in Q2 2024.
Moreover, to address the issues of pressure on land resources resulting from large solar projects and our onshore limitation for wind energy a series of measures is being adopted:
Exempt Income for investment in green projects:
Annual allowance in respect of the capital expenditure incurred on:
Buy-back guarantee:
Possibility of Scaling:
Funding
Africa is termed as a land of opportunities for Renewable Energies with potential solar capacity estimated at 10 TW, abundant hydro (350 GW), wind (110 GW), and geothermal energy sources (15 GW). The African Development Bank has ranked energy in its top 5 high priorities areas and launched the New Deal on Energy for Africa with an overarching goal of universal energy access in Africa. This will be achieved through expanding grid power by 160 GW and connecting 130 million people to the grid.
Mauritius, as an integral part of the African Continent has excellent bilateral ties with African Countries. Moreover, the local expertise of Mauritius in the energy sector coupled with the offering of its International Financial Centre can be leveraged upon for structuring and management of energy projects in Africa.
In the banking sector, Mauritius has embraced the Equator Principles. The Government of Mauritius and regulatory bodies have laid a robust foundation to cater for the issuance of green bonds and to better identify the risks and opportunities arising from the transition to a low-carbon and more circular economy.
Likewise, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius launched the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Sustainability Index (SEMSI) in 2015 which outlines the ESG reporting requirements for listed companies.
Mauritius can also be considered for the drafting, framing and upholding of energy contracts for African based projects, mostly for the commercial and dispute resolution aspects. Mauritius can also be used a cost effective and efficient arbitration centre for energy contracts.
Exempt Income for investment in green projects:
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Global Headquarters Administration License
Global Legal Advisory Services License
Through a panoply of schemes and unique incentives offered, EDB Mauritius supports the expansion and growth of business operations as a way to enhance substantive and value-added economic activities in Mauritius.
Medew Holdings Ltd
Setting up in Mauritius means joining a long list of world-class businesses that have chosen our country as their regional base of operations. These exceptional businesses include: