- Type: Thermal biomass power plant
- Installed since: 1998
- Installed capacity: 102 MW
- Workforce: 90
The Le Moule biomass-fuelled thermal power plant is Albioma's longest-established thermal plant in Guadeloupe, supplying 30% of the electricity available via the network and making use of locally-sourced and renewable resources.
Activities
The Le Moule cogeneration plant is one of Albioma’s long-established plants. It was commissioned in 1998 and has an installed capacity of 102 MW. As well as contributing to Guadeloupe’s energy independence, the plant’s activity – based partly on recovering bagasse – supports the local sugar cane industry.
102
MW
operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
530
GWh
exported to the grid
30
%
of the island’s electricity production
With the conversion of Albioma Le Moule, the coal era in the French Overseas Territories definitively comes to an end
Since November 2020, Unit 3 of the plant has been operating exclusively on biomass.
On July 3, Albioma announced the complete phase-out of coal at its Le Moule site (units ALM1 and ALM2) in Guadeloupe, following the deliberation of the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) on June 13, 2024, and the signing of an amendment to the power purchase agreement with EDF for the conversion of the plant to biomass.
Conversion works on unit ALM2 are currently underway, with the aim of enabling the plant to operate entirely on biomass by early 2026. Priority will be given to locally available biomass resources (bagasse, forest wood, pruning wood, etc.), supplemented by certified imported wood pellets, notably supplied from our production facility in Canada. Unit ALM1 will operate solely on bagasse during sugarcane harvesting campaigns and will be placed in “mothball” status for the remainder of the year.
The CRE’s decision also provides for an investment envelope required to extend the operating life of unit ALM2 by 14 years. As a result, the power purchase agreement has been extended from 2033 to 2047 for ALM2.
Ultimately, the conversion will increase the share of renewable energy in Guadeloupe’s energy mix from 35% to 45% and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 200,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year, representing an 87% reduction in direct emissions compared with the plant’s current operation.