Uganda turning to sugar cane for green electricity

In Brazil sugar cane processors use biomass residues (bagasse) from the cane to produce the electricity they need to keep their mill going. As it is well known, they generate an impressive amount of excess energy, which is then fed from the mill into the national grid. This is green, CO2 neutral, climate-friendly electricity. The technique is rather simple and easily transferrable to other developing countries. As Abubaker Mukose reports, Uganda is picking up on it (and now that the country is going to an electricity crisis, this most simple form of biomass-to-electricty might come in handy):

Piles and piles of crushed baggasse stretch out of an iron-roofed shed adjacent to the sugar factory. Baggasse is waste bio-mass of sugarcane from which juice has been extracted.

Two men scoop the baggasse with spades and pour it into a furnace that connects to a steam boiler, generating fumes of hot steam. A few yards away is a construction site for a towering steam boiler complex. Clad in red overcoats, the constructors piece the huge steel parts together with welding machines.

They gaze at us, trying to work out why we are here, but they soon get back to work.

A huge cylindrical tank lies on its side as the sound from the welding rods breaks the dominance of the ever-rolling sugar factory noise.

At the lower side of the construction site is a magnificent power house housing huge electricity generators fixed to turbines that turn fast, driven by the power of steam produced by the boilers.

They run with the help of steam fed in the double extraction, condensing into the 16MW turbo generator to produce electrical power.

This is at Kakira Sugar Works factory, Jinja, where the Madhvani Group of Companies has committed a $43m investment to boost the power co-generation scheme alongside sugar production.

Electricity generated from baggasse has made Kakira self reliant. The sugar and sweet factories, together with the housing estates, require approximately 7MW of electricity.

Kakira plans to sell the 12MW surplus power to Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL) for tapping to the national grid system under a long-term power purchase agreement.

It is an initiative likely to help alleviate the country's escalating energy crisis.

"The plant uses baggasse as fuel for the boilers for generation of steam at 42kg per sq. centimetre (530 degrees Centigrade)," explains Sundraman Ganesan, the electrical engineering manager of the bagasse-fired co-generation power plant.

Ganesan adds that necessary expansion equipment for crushing the 5,000 tonnes of cane per day will be commissioned early next year to produce the required baggasse.

Joint managing director (Madhvani Group) Mayur Madhvani says the sugar factory expansion work is almost complete to meet the demand of the co-generation project.

"The new power house that will accommodate the 16MW turbo generator is being completed. On completion, 12MW of power will be exported from Kakira to the grid beginning early next year," Madhvani says, adding that the electricity is environmentally friendly and stable.

Ash coming out of the boilers and flue gasses are wet scrubbed before being released into the atmosphere, thus making it an environmentally friendly set-up.

Madhvani adds that a 33KV power line of approximately 12.6km from Kakira to the Jinja industrial sub-station has been surveyed. "The line will be used to transmit 12MW of power from Kakira to the grid," he explains.

Power Planning Associates-Energy Sector Consultants have been mediating for mutual power purchase negotiations for UETCL to tap Kakira's power.

However, the negotiations have not been completed, much as the country is reeling under a peak hour deficit of 165 megawatts of power.

Already, up to 3MW of surplus power produced by Kakira is wasted daily due to delays in signing the purchase agreement.

"If purchased, Kakira power can satisfactorily light up Jinja town. However, the Government is taking long to finalise the purchase deal, yet we have gone ahead to invest and soon the planned 12MW shall be available," Madhvani complains.

Statistics from the Uganda Electricity Generation Company show that Jinja town requires about 9MW of power during peak hours.

Energy minister Daudi Migereko promises to mediate the purchase negotiations.

"I am happy with the Kakira 20MW co-generation plan. Co-generation electricity is encouraged by the ministry as it is seen to complement our struggle to limit the current power shortage in the country," he says. "Sourcing power today is not an easy task, but as the Government, we are committed to ensuring that there is adequate electricity in the country."

New Vision (Kampala).