The increase of electricity consumption remains strong in La Réunion, despite a proactive policy of controlling energy demand:  

• 2% annual increase,  
• consumption multiplied by 16 in less than 40 years due to demography, household equipment and economic development of the island.

New generation diesel power plants are one of the safest and most effective means of dealing with changes in electricity consumption in island systems, including strong and sudden increases in demand. These installations indeed allow a great flexibility: they can be started in a few minutes and stopped without problem.

Key points :

• 12 diesel engines with a total capacity of 220 MW
• 25% of the electricity needs of Réunion residents
• 2,000 people and more than 150 companies mobilized on site
• 3 million working hours
• 50,000 m3 of concrete poured in 2 years, the equivalent of the Saint-Paul viaduct
• 500 km of electric cables laid, twice the circumference of the Réunion Island
• 5,000 tons of steel structure erected
• 80 km of mounted and welded steel pipes
• 500 M € invested, including 50 M € for the environment

Controling of Engine behavior on electrical grid :

• Load steps response testing
• Voltage variation for reactive load full range test (min to max)
• Load rejection test
• Stability on operating limits testing