Havana, Apr 11, (RHC), – Cuban sugar holding company, Azcuba, is planning to install up to 19 biomass power plants in the island, local officials announced.

The biomass plants — some attached to sugar mills, or refurbished existing power plants — would generate up to 765 megawatts in electric power mostly using bagasse, a byproduct of sugar production, Barbara Hernández, Azcuba’s head of electricity generation, told local media.

According to Hernández, the program could cost up to $1.7 billion, however the investment would pay for itself quickly in the form of savings in oil purchases.
The world’s leading biomass power producer is Brazil, which operates 160 of the world's 188 plants, with a generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts.

Cuba has already begun to plan with foreign investors. Brazil’s Odebrecht Agroindustrial is proposing to install a biomass power plant at a sugar mill near Cienfuegos. Britain’s Esencia group has agreed to build a $45 million power plant at a sugar mill in Ciego de Ávila province, and a $60 million Chinese-designed biomass power plant is planned to go up in Matanzas province.