Island facts
La Réunion is a French tropical volcanic island lying in the Mascarene Archipelago, Indian Ocean, one of the most preserved biodiversity hot spots in the world.
With 2,512km² of land and managing 315,058 square kilometres of marine exclusive economic area, La Reunion provides a unique presence of France and Europe at the crossroads of Africa and Asia, at the heart of a millenary world system.
With these unique characteristics, advanced infrastructures and highly skilled human talent, La Réunion offers the opportunity for European researchers and entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions contributing to the ecological and energy transition in a tropical context.
What does the islands energy mix look like?
Like most overseas territories, La Réunion is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. Of the 1,491 thousand metric tons of oil equivalent of primary energy consumption in 2019, 1,305 thousand tons of oil equivalent were imported, 72% of which were oil and gas and 28% coal. Originating from South Africa, this coal is used to generate power.
Apart from the heavy fuel oil used by power plants, most fuels go toward transportation: 66% for road and 32% for air. Given the island’s extremely mountainous centre, transportation routes generally run along the coast. Roads are often congested, and the public transportation system is underdeveloped. Energy use in the road transportation sector has been constantly increasing since 2000.
Electricity is produced by coal for 36% and heavy fuel oil and diesel for 33%.
Clean energy on La Réunion
To limit its heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels, La Réunion aims to achieve energy autonomy by 2030 based on greater energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives (50% renewable electricity by 2020, and 100% by 2030).
In March 2019, La Réunion's Regional Council revised and approved the island’s energy strategy, the Multiannual Energy Program (PPE) set up by the Energy Transition Law for Green Growth of August 2015, defining the island’s objectives in terms of energy production and management by 2023 and 2028.