Bagasse-Based Sugar Cogeneration Potential in India: A Source of Renewable Energy

Abstract

India has been suffering from an acute shortage of electricity for several decades. The main reason is that there is a large gap between the demand and supply of electricity. Therefore, the government of India has recently promoted cogeneration in the sugar industry. The national power generation potential from bagasse cogeneration, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), a study by the Government of India, is about 3,500 MW, while Maharashtra's potential is 1,250 MW. Indian Sugar Industries has the potential to produce an excess capacity of up to 5,000 MW in all sugar mills. Maharashtra again became India's leading sugar-producing state five years later. It overtook Uttar Pradesh in sugar production. The total sugar production in Maharashtra is 138 thousand metric tonnes for 2021–2022. In India, the sugar industry is the second-largest agro-industry and contributes significantly to the socioeconomic development of the country. Sugarcane is the main raw material for sugar production in India. Sugar cogeneration is the concept of producing two types of energy from one fuel. One form of energy must always be heated, and the other may be electricity or mechanical energy. In the cogeneration industry, very high-efficiency levels in the range of 75% to 90% can be achieved.