Nature Seychelles staff painting the stand of solar installation on Cousin Island
Nature Seychelles
In April 2014 an online crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo was initiated to finance the installation of a modern, stand-alone 5 kw photovoltaic system on Cousin Island Special Reserve. Within 50 days £25,000 were raised to cover the costs. The solar system was installed in 2015 and makes the energy supply of the island independent from fossil fuels and reduces emissions by approx. 15 tonnes of CO² per year, thus making the management and running of the MPA more sustainable.
Last update: 07 Nov 2022
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Context
Challenges addressed
The Cousin Island Special Reserve station was the first in the Seychelles to run entirely on solar energy. After several upgrades the initial system failed entirely after 7 years of operation in the harsh climate. The reserve management was forced to revert temporarily to fossil fuel for power generation, which implied high financial and environmental costs (buying and transporting fuel, and contamination). The generation of financial resources to install a new modern and robust Photovoltaic Solar Power system on Cousin Island has been the major challenge.
Location
Cousin Island, Seychelles
East and South Africa
Process
Summary of the process
The private sector involvement contributed substantially to the success of the project. The crowdfunding was the first step and constituted an essential precondition for its implementation. By generating financial resources the installation of the Photovoltaic Solar Power system on Cousin Island could be realized.
Using renewable energy resulted in achieving independency from fossil fuels (diesel) that was previously used for the generator that provided electricity. Savings made are invested back into the maintenance of the nature reserve and for securing a budget for maintenance.
Building Blocks
Private sector partnerships
Nature Seychelles was looking for funding for a new PV system on Cousin island. The institution was thinking about an innovative approach using crowd funding since traditional donors such as the UNDP/GEF had turned down the project. ClimateCaring a new company specializing in off-grid systems expressed an interest in undertaking this and accepted to be paid from the proceeds of the crowd funding campaign if successful. Indiegogo was chosen as the crowd funding platform to work with because it was the only one at the time that allowed funds raised to be retained if the campaign target was not reached. Resulting from this partnership, marketing materials including videos were designed, small gifts secured and the online fund raising campaign was designed and initiated.
Enabling factors
Existence of company – ClimateCaring - that had the knowledge and willingness to help design and set up the robust, off-grid PV installation and be paid after the crowd funding was successful.
Existence of several crowd funding platforms internationally to choose from
Lesson learned
- Right choice of crowd funding platform
- Need for other partners to vouch for the campaign – in this case the CEO of Birdlife International and the Seychelles’ Minister of Environment
- Media-savvy staff and volunteers
Crowd funding for financing a renewable energy system
The project was funded entirely through a crowd funding campaign running for 50 days on www.indiegogo.com. This fund raising campaign was initiated by Nature Seychelles in partnership with ClimateCaring.. Individuals were invited to donate £1 (1,25 USD) for each of the twelve hours the sun is out in the Seychelles Islands, finally totaling to a contribution of 15 USD each. There were a total of 95 individual backers. The largest donations of up to 12,500 USD came from a UK energy company and the US Embassy based in Mauritius. Other donations came from private sector companies via their corporate responsibility funds.
Enabling factors
- Leadership by Nature Seychelles’ top management
- Support from all levels of the institution
- Ability to raise an online crowdfunding campaign (know-how, technical capacities)
- Know how for marketing and lobbying to inform potential funders
Lesson learned
- Online crowdfunding campaigns do have the potential to generate money for financing of certain activities and equipment for conservation.
- The inclusion of the private sector as well as governmental agencies is important. Respective agents may contribute quite substantially in the crowdfunding process from design to funding to implementation.
- Creating incentives for small donations like a personal postcard and the chance to win a trip to the island motivates potential small donors.
- Nevertheless, attracting big donors (companies, bilateral donors and development agencies) to this sort of campaign, which is not commercial in nature and thus not providing returns (in the form of products) to the small donors, is very important.
Solar power plant installation
The old diesel powered generator on Cousin Island Special reserve was replaced by a modern and robust Photovoltaic Solar Power system. Research was required to procure equipment that could withstand the high salinity, heat and humidity on a tropical island. Once located in the United States, the different components had to be imported by the NGO Nature Seychelles (who manages teh Special Reserve) itself. All the equipment including the stands that had to be fabricated using high quality stainless steel had to be shipped to the island - Cousin island Special Reserve has no dock, harbor or quay and the landing of the equipment was fraught with difficulties. The stand-alone 5 kw photovoltaic energy system was installed in July 2015. Since then 2 controllers have had to be replaced because of corrosion.
Enabling factors
- National enabling environment for renewable energy -no tax imposed on solar equipment in the country.
- Existence of company – ClimateCaring that had the knowledge and willingness to help design and set up the robust, off-grid PV installation.
- Assistance on and off the island by the institution’s staff.
- Large enough area for secure siting of and easy access to the installation.
Lesson learned
- Robust technology is required to withstand the harsh climate
- Staff have to trained in use and maintenance of the system
- Regular maintenance schedules need to be set up and adhered to
- Budget has to be secured for maintenance and purchase of defective/damaged parts
Impacts
The solar power system saves the NGO Nature Seychelles, who manages the Cousin Island Speical reserve, approximately 750 USD per month in in direct transportation costs and fuel used for running a generator, which itself needs regular maintenance, and replacement every two years. Expensive long distance fuel transportation by boat and storage on the island is not necessary anymore, which also diminishes the risk of contamination in the nature reserve. In its first year, carbon emissions on Cousin Island were reduced by around 15 tonnes already. This also allows Nature Seychelles to buy fewer carbon credits on the international market which it does regularly to ensure that Cousin remains the world’s first carbon neutral nature reserve. These savings are used for research, staff, island maintenance, boat repairs, and other things, thereby improving management of the reserve.
Beneficiaries
Nature Seychelles staff, students, researchers, volunteers, visitors to the island
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 7 – Affordable and clean energy
SDG 14 – Life below water
Story
Half a century ago Cousin Island was purchased by BirdLife International (then ICBP), then declared a Nature Reserve by the Seychelles Government. The world’s first internationally owned nature reserve and first island purchased to save one species - the Seychelle warbler. Today the warbler numbers thousands on several islands - the first species ever downgraded from Critically Endangered to Least Threatened on the IUCN Red List purely through conservation action.
Part of the Reserve's success goes back to its energy management: “The government has been putting a lot of emphasis on renewable energy,” Minister for Environment, Dogley said after he launched the solar installation. “And we now have Cousin running on one hundred percent renewable energy.” The minister said he hopes that this type of technology can be applied to other islands in the Seychelles thus ensuring the protection of the environment which the country and its people are so dependent on, and which is cherished by those who visit the Seychelles.
“This is a historic moment,” Dr Nirmal Shah, Nature Seychelles CEO says. “In the year 2000, Cousin became the first Island to be fully powered by solar. Ten years later we were the first nature reserve in the world to become carbon neutral. Fifteen years later, we now have a second generation PV solar system. The interesting thing is how we finally got it funded after we had gone from pillar to post trying to secure financing for this project.”
Tim Kirkpatrick, of Climate Caring, partnered with Nature Seychelles, took on the task of the online campaign via Indiegogo, a crowd funding firm. Kirkpatrick, an electrical engineer, also installed the solar system after having worked for months on sourcing and importing the right parts from several countries. “For the first time in a year I can sit here (in front of the Field Station on Cousin), have a cup of coffee and smile knowing that what we have achieved is remarkable.” Kirkpatrick said on the day the work was completed, as he looked over at the solar panels glistening in the bright afternoon sun. "I believe we have raised awareness on climate change, and not just in Seychelles.”
Nature Seychelles staff and volunteers on Cousin were all sunny smiles the morning after the solar power was turned on, happy to be able to have a fan on all night and charge their electrical gadgets. Normally, the generator was switched on for one hour in the morning, another hour around lunch time and six hours in the evening.
