Use of higher fibre cane for increasing cogenerated electricity: Policy implications for Mauritius

•Use of higher fibre cane would increase electricity production by at least 188%.•Replacement of normal cane with higher fibre content of sugar cane would delay the capacity addition.•Fuel oil as well as coal substitution may both be relevant options if energy cane is contemplated.•Between USD 54M and USD 1041M savings for fuel oil could be made according to the different scenario.•Fuel oil substitution is optimized if base-load increases at a lower rate than semi-base and peak loads.

Around 14% of the total production of electricity of Mauritius is produced by bagasse, a by-product of sugar cane, as fuel in steam cogeneration power plants. However, due to the fall in revenues in the sales of sugar, the land area under cane cultivation is decreasing as well as the amount of electricity produced by bagasse. In order to enhance the sustainability of the cane industry, the use of sugar cane with higher percentage of fibre content is being investigated for increasing the production of bagasse and thus cogenerated electricity. Policy implications are also discussed.