Sugarcane generated 79% of the bioelectricity offered to the grid

In 2021, the generation of bioelectricity for the grid (including sugar-energy waste, biogas, firewood, bleach, wood waste, elephant grass, rice husk) in the country was 25,4 thousand GWh, according to a survey by the Union of Industry of Sugarcane (UNICA), based on data from the Electric Energy Trading Chamber (CCEE), representing 4% of the total generation produced in the country, without considering production for self-consumption.

Generation by the sugar-energy sector represented 79,5% of the total bioelectricity production offered to the grid in 2021, followed by black liquor (a by-product of the paper and cellulose industry) with 11,9% and biogas with 4,5%. In 2021, the sugar-energy sector produced 20,2 thousand GWh for the grid, a reduction of 10,6% compared to 2020, enough to serve 10,2 million homes last year.

The bioelectricity offered by the sugar-energy sector is always a strategic generation for the country. In 2021, it was equivalent to 4% of annual electrical energy consumption, 30% of electrical energy generation by Usina Itaipu in 2021, 63% of generation by Usina Belo Monte or 31% of all gas thermoelectric generation in 2021.

For UNICA's Bioelectricity Manager, Zilmar Souza, in a year in which we experienced the worst hydrological crisis in the Brazilian electricity sector since 1930, energy from sugarcane biomass saved 14% of the energy capable of being stored in the form of water in reservoirs. of hydroelectric plants in the Southeast/Mid-West submarket, the main one in the electrical sector, due to the greater predictability and availability of bioelectricity precisely in the dry and critical period for the Brazilian electrical sector.

“Of the 20.202 GWh generated for the grid in 2021, 85% were offered between May and November, months that make up precisely the dry and critical period for the Brazilian electricity sector. If the period to be considered is April to November, the indicator rises to 96%. Furthermore, the generation of sugarcane biomass reduced CO2 emissions by an estimated 7 million tons, a mark that would only be achieved with the cultivation of 49 million native trees over 20 years”, comments Souza.

Accumulated generation in the last 10 years

According to the survey, in the last 10 years, from 2012 to 2021, the accumulated production of sugar-energy bioelectricity for the grid was 196.867 GWh, a generation that would be enough to supply the world's electricity consumption for more than 3 days, from the European Union for 25 days, from China for 13 days, from the United States for 18 days, from the United Kingdom for 232 days, and from Argentina for almost 1 year and 8 months.

For the full report, visit Bioelectricity Bulletin.