Sugarmills as effective and cheaper than windmills!

[Green_not_greed]

Yes, really!

And I thought it was a spin off from the Apprentice...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Energy/Sugar-mills-generate-as-much-green-energy-as-windmills/articleshow/4625100.cms

Can we grow sugar cane in Caithness? Perhaps after climate change kicks in. Or perhaps the sugar industry will be vying for ROCs and offering us all free polytunnels.

[Rheghead]

The numbers don't seem to add up for me.

2GW from 107 co-generation plants yet the largest supposedly only produces the national average power and the third largest well less than average?:confused

[MadPict]

Are they the sweetner?.....

[George Brims]

I used to live on the Big Island in Hawaii, which used to have a sugar industry. Competition from countries with cheaper labour has finally killed it off (the last company, on Kauai, is closing this year). When it was up and running the mills used to generate steam to run their cooking processes, and electricity to sell to the local electric company, by burning bagasse, which is the fibrous bit left after the sugary juice is extracted. Now sugar growing is gone, much of the land is covered in fast-growing eucalyptus trees, which are chipped and burned in the same equipment. This is a shame for tourists as the Hamakua coast road now has no view. We used to sometimes see whales passing by at sea as we drove along there.