Generating
electricity from
renewable sources
Our operating plants generate a significant amount of electricity from renewable biomass sources that are a natural by-product of the sugar-making process. Not only is the electricity generated used to power our own plants self-sufficiently, but also to export excess electricity to national grids.
In our Illovo Sugar Africa operations, we annually produce around 90% of our own energy requirements using bagasse, which is the fibrous residue that remains after the extraction of juice from the crushed stalks of sugar cane. For example, in Eswatini, we produce around 165 gigawatt hours annually, but 60 gigawatt hours is supplied to the national grid.
Beyond producing electricity, bagasse is also used to create products such as paper, animal feeds and industrial solvents. Further information on power generation in Illovo Sugar Africa can be found here.
we produce 90%
of our energy
requirements
in Africa
of 165 gigawatt
hours produced,
60 gigawatt hours
are exported to
national grid
In the UK we have invested in an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at British Sugar that produces biogas from the pressed sugar beet pulp that is used within the sugar-making process. The plant uses around 97,500 tonnes of sugar beet pulp annually and exports 38 gigawatt hours of electricity to the national grid.
The plant also produces a digestate which is used for both soil conditioning and fertiliser replacement.
To find out more on how we are decarbonising our plants, take a look at our global mind, LOCAL CHAMPIONS sustainability programme.
