ABSTRACT
Modern use of biomass energy has increased in many parts of the world, with the key driving forces being soaring oil prices, commitments to address climate change and the need for rural development (Faaij and Domac, 2006). A reliable supply and stable demand of feedstocks are always required as a prerequisite to sustainable market development. The exploitable bioenergy potential of the sub-Saharan Africa region is significant and is estimated to be the highest of any world region (Smeets et al., 2007). Sugar cane has become an important source of bioenergy globally, and at the same time, the sugar industry has entered a period of transition. Subsidies within the European Union have been reduced, preferential market access to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries has been adjusted and prices and quotas for least developed countries (LDCs) are somewhat more constrained (Innes, 2010). There will remain, however, a considerable amount of preferential market access for sugar, so that the “free market” where world commodity prices apply will remain “thin” for some years to come (Alvarez and Polopolus, 2008; Chapter 8 in this Volume). Two important co-products of the sugar cane industry are cogenerated electricity from bagasse and bioethanol. While the former may only have a domestic and regional market, bioethanol has an additional opportunity on international markets that can be exploited (Johnson and Matsika, 2006). The possibility for African LDCs to export ethanol to the EU has been recognized due to the fact that EU countries must meet mandates under the Renewable Energy Directive (EC, 2009), while at the same time many LDCs are exempt from agricultural import tariffs applied to products such as bioethanol (see Chapter 8). The main driving forces for market diversification into renewable energy include uncertainties in oil and sugar prices, land and resource availability, power supply
conditions, environmental policies and economic development policies. The challenges to diversification include lack of supporting national and international policies, difficulties with market access and technological constraints, as well as the more general barriers that stifle the development of renewable energy sources. This chapter will consider the implementation strategies available to sugar producers and the policy incentives that can stimulate greater production of renewable energy from sugar cane. The emphasis will be on bioethanol and cogeneration, although some of the same approaches can support other energy and non-energy products or markets that use biomass from sugar cane.
