In Reunion, waste transformed into electricity to move towards energy autonomy

"We have equipped ourselves with an optical sorter, equipped with artificial intelligence, which will detect waste using cameras and exclude waste that can be recycled," Eddy Lebon explained to AFP, presenting the sorting center he designed nearly ten years ago.

Since 2014, the joint waste treatment union for the southern and western micro-regions of Réunion, Ileva, has been running a project for a multi-sector waste recovery hub in Saint-Pierre (south).

It is based on an energy recovery unit which will transform solid recovered fuels (SRF) from household waste into electricity, which emit less CO2 than gas or coal, for a budget of 400 million euros.

For Réunion, the development of renewable energy is imperative. Since the 2015 Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has mandated a gradual phase-out of imported fossil fuels in areas not connected to the metropolitan network.

The Port power plant (west), operated by EDF, which supplies 40% of the island's electricity, has therefore replaced heavy fuel oil with biodiesel. The two thermal power plants of the producer Albioma, also covering 40% of needs, have abandoned coal in favor of wood pellets and bagasse, a sugarcane residue.

"Réunion has reached approximately 93% renewable energy to cover its electricity needs," emphasizes Gaëlle Gilboire, head of the Territorial Strategy department of the regional energy and climate agency, Énergies Réunion.

Only "7% are still covered by emergency generators and a few oil-fired engines are used as needed," she continues.

Import dependence

One blind spot remains: dependence on imports. Today, bagasse covers "7 to 9% of electricity needs," according to the Réunion Energy Observatory. But this resource is the only local one.

"We import 750.000 tonnes of wood pellets per year from North America, Europe and the Indo-Pacific basin," explains Geoffroy Mercier, Indian Ocean director of Albioma, who hopes to gradually limit his imports.

Especially since the Multi-annual Energy Program (PPE), an energy planning document set by the State, requires reaching 56% of local resources in 2028 and 100% in 2030 for overseas territories.

In Bois-Rouge, in the north of the island, Albioma has therefore commissioned a unit dedicated to local biomass, capable of processing 50.000 tonnes per year.

The company is planning a similar structure at its Gol site in the south. In April 2024, it recycled wood from a land clearing program, but supply remains a challenge. "The sector is only just beginning to take shape, and there are ultimately relatively few forests on the island," notes Geoffroy Mercier.

To achieve the objectives set by the PPE, Albioma is also developing a CSR production unit in the north of the island. It is scheduled to come online in 2026, with an estimated production of 66 GWh per year, half of Ileva's project. This would cover approximately 5% of Réunion Island's electricity needs.

The regional energy and climate agency is also banking on "photovoltaics, which represent 9,5% of electricity production, wind power (0,5%) and biogas (0,5%)" which are still emerging, says Gaëlle Gilboire.

However, these projects will take time to get off the ground. "The solar and wind projects currently underway will not see the light of day for another 10 to 15 years," she emphasizes.