Cuba's Sugar 'Bagazo' Stirs Renewable Energy Drive

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Cuban government is planning to increase renewable energy's contribution to Cuba's power generation from the current 3.8% to 12% over the next eight years. Bagazo residue, which is the waste created by sugar cane farming, could become a major contributor to this target.

To advance this process, a group of specialists have been sent to China to study and learn the technologies used for conversion of bagazo to a fuel feed.

The Cuban government is investing $60 million in the project.

The first 'bioelectric' project will be a 20-megawatt (MW) project at Matanzas, which will incinerate large quantities of the residue as a clean energy fuel. Both Cuban and Asian sources report that the project is aiming for economic and environmental benefits.

The Cuban drive for renewable energy is looking to use wood, bazago biomass, solar, wind and hydropower to produce "clean" power.

Cuba's power sector, with a nominal installed power generation capacity of about 6,000 MW, has been constrained by U.S. trade sanctions, lack of foreign investment, maintenance and a loss of as much as 30% of effective power through dilapidated transmission systems.

For related information, see January 16, 2013, article - Cuba to Build Eight Windfarms for 280 Megawatts.

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