Eco-friendly Engen for Réunion
The site will serve the community of Beausejour - a full-scale new urban eco-development joined to the town of Saint-Marie near the capital Saint-Denis. The development will take the form of an "eco-city", consisting of 2,000 homes built on 80 hectares over the next 10 years.
Having won Beausejour's call for tenders for a green retail service station, Engen is now finalising project details, says Mike Cook, retail services manager for Engen's International Business Division. "Construction will start in three months and should be finished by year-end."
Features and functionality
The site will combine environmental features with service station and convenience functionality. In addition to full-service fuel pumps, the forecourt will feature charging stations for electric vehicles (one car and two motorcycles), and a latest-generation automatic car wash, which is supplied with rain recovery water to minimise waste. A study will be conducted into the feasibility of installing solar panels on the site in the future.
As with many service stations across the Engen network, the site will favour natural ventilation, LED lighting with presence detection, equipment set to the minimum energy class, remote monitoring, smart meters, and solar for heating, light tracking and cooling.
21st century service station
The building itself will be a large timber-clad structure. It will also include a western aisle providing a 'double skin' for housing an indoor garden as well as an ample pavement and grass driveway for the comfort of motorists.
"We are motivated to design a service station for the 21st century, leading the way for a new concept in the industry and offering the public new choice in its supply of petroleum products," Cooke says.
Engen has operated in Réunion since 2012. The company has a presence in 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.
