The sugar and alcohol sector in the
Country is self-sufficient in the produc-
tion of electric energy from biomass and
sells its surpluses to the National Intercon-
nected Electric System (SIN, in the Portu-
guese acronym). In 2014, this proportion
reached 40% of the energy demanded by
the mills themselves and the remaining
60% were directed towards the Brazilian
electric system. With the present amount
of sugarcane it is possible to double the
generation of energy, by taking advantage
of the waste generated at the moment.
The advantages of the system encom-
pass environmental, economic and social
aspects, from the use of the waste (straw,
bagasse and vinasse), which, up to some
time ago, used to generate disposal costs
and now produce energy during dry peri-
ods in Central Brazil, not to mention jobs
and income. The generation capacity for
the SIN could be multiplied by six, seeing
that the sector boasts a high potential for
increasing the production of electric ener-
gy from biomass. This, however, depends
on incentive given to the sector for invest-
ments in new projects, through a structur-
ing policy for the medium and long run.
The auctions staged by the federal gov-
ernment for the acquisition of electric en-
ergy, however, have not been encompass-
ing this type of energy generation since
2011. They gave rise to a complaint tak-
en to the Ministry of Mines and Energy
(MME) at recent meetings and to Nation-
al Congress at a public hearing, which at-
tracted upwards of 200 people, including
politicians and leaderships of the supply
chain. Now, the sector is eager for chang-
es to the strategies for the acquisition of
energy by the government.
Besides being complementary to wa-
ter-based renewable energy during the
dry periods over the year in the Southeast
and Central-West, the generation of ener-
gy from sugarcane biomass, close to huge
urban centers, reduces transmission loss-
es and the need for investments in trans-
port infrastructure, says the Executive
Director of the Brazilian Sugarcane In-
dustry Association (Unica), Eduardo Leão
de Sousa. “It is an example of the extrem-
ities that should be recognized in the
methodology for the specification of ev-
Very cool
Sugarcane bagasse represents almost 80% of the electric energy
generated by biomass in Brazil, but the segment needs incentive for its expansion
Inor Ag. Assmann
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