Sweet supply

Pakistan's first power plant to use sugarcane-waste biogas created from the production of ethanol recently began supplying power to the country's national grid.

The start-up of sugarcane milling company Shakarganj Mills' new biogas power plant in Jhang, Pakistan, comes as the country is working to overcome its current 3,500MW energy shortage.

The new plant will generate enough power to support more than 50,000 homes in Pakistan.

The biogas used to power the eight GE Jenbacher gas engines used in the plant is extracted from spent wash - a residual product from Shakarganj Mills' ethanol production process that uses sugarcane molasses as a raw material.

Mohammad Asghar Qureshi, managing director of Shakarganj Mills, said: 'With 225 million litres of ethyl alcohol produced annually in Pakistan, we expect many other distillery companies to install similar plants to support the energy needs of the national grid.'

Electricity from the plant is being delivered to the national grid through a 22-year power purchase agreement with the local grid operator.