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Mauritius: renewable electricity produced from sugar cane
Mauritius: renewable electricity produced from sugar cane – (France 2)
Sugar production in Mauritius has been divided by three in twenty years. However, the exploitation of sugar cane continues, particularly to produce green electricity.
In Mauritius, there are 40,000 hectares of sugar cane farms, part of which is cut by hand. This physical work no longer attracts young Mauritians and the decline in the workforce has caused harvests to fall. The country produces three times less sugar than twenty years ago. To survive, the cane industry has reinvented itself and part of the production is offset by large automated harvesters.
“Local electricity”
In addition to sugar, Mauritian cane is used to produce renewable electricity. The largest sugar factory on the island, Alteo, launched the idea. The cane is crushed by mills. The juice and sugar are extracted for consumption, while the rest goes to a power plant. Bagasse, the fiber that no longer contains sugar, was previously considered waste. The bagasse is now poured, and the steam released is used to turn a turbine and produce electricity. “It’s renewable electricity, green electricity and local electricity”boasts Grégory Bathfield, general director of the sugar company Alteo.
