Bagasse Cogeneration

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The aim of the Guyana Bagasse Cogeneration Project is to utilize in an efficient manner the bagasse by-product of the new Skeldon sugar factory in generating electricity for internal use as well as for sale to the national grid. The project will displace the use of light fuel oil in diesel engine driven generators operated by the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL), the national utility, in the Berbice region. As the utility currently has insufficient capacity, there is extensive use of self-generation by industry and households. The project will also displace a significant amount of this unregulated and inefficient self-generation as confidence in reliable supply is progressively built over time. The cogeneration plant will use bagasse from the sugar factory during the cane crop seasons, and will be equipped with diesel generating capacity for co-firing fuel oil during off-crop periods when bagasse stocks have been exhausted. Under this project scheme, surplus electricity will be generated at an average of 10 MW of electricity delivering approximately 77 GWh per year to the regional grid on a firm power, year-round basis. Of the 77 GWh to be exported to the grid annually, about 85 percent (65.45 GWh) will be generated directly from bagasse, with the balance from fuel oil during off-crop periods. In addition to the grid export, 58.8 GWh per year will be produced for internal use at the sugar mill.