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Sugarcane: a way out of energy poverty
Author(s) -
Leite João G.D.B.,
Leal Manoel R.L.V.,
Nogueira Luiz A.H.,
Cortez Luís A.B.,
Dale Bruce E.,
da Maia Rui C.,
Adjorlolo Clement
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
biofuels, bioproducts and biorefining
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.931
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1932-1031
pISSN - 1932-104X
DOI - 10.1002/bbb.1648
Subject(s) - natural resource economics , energy poverty , biomass (ecology) , poverty , business , deforestation (computer science) , electricity , agricultural economics , economics , economic growth , engineering , medicine , oceanography , alternative medicine , pathology , computer science , electrical engineering , programming language , geology , panacea (medicine)
Universal access to modern energy is required if the world is to reduce poverty and enable sustainable development. Energy poverty is the lack of access to safe and efficient energy carriers. It affects more than 1.3 billion people without electricity and 2.7 billion without appropriate cooking facilities and fuels, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa ( SSA ). Under these conditions, people rely on traditional biomass to fulfil basic needs. Traditional biomass use causes death and disease associated with indoor air pollution, high labor demands to obtain biomass, and environmental damage due to deforestation. This paper analyzes the potential for modern energy production based on sugarcane in SSA . A standard, business‐as‐usual ( BAU ), sugar‐based project is explored vis‐à‐vis more aggressive scenarios for producing modern energy, including electricity, ethanol, and solid fuel pellets. All scenarios considered are based on a single sugarcane mill processing one million tonnes of cane per year, grown in an area of 15 000 hectares. Our simulations show that over 210 000 households could be served with electricity and other 31 000 with modern cooking fuels under the scenarios examined. Less dependence on traditional biomass may also spare wooded environments from deforestation. However, harnessing modern energy from sugarcane does not come without challenges. Economic pitfalls (e.g. investment costs and affordability) coupled with poor political environments are among the main obstacles. Nevertheless, encouraging local and regional trends proved bioenergy a feasible way out of energy poverty and an alternative to sustainable development. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd