Sugarcane is one of the highest natural transformers of sunlight into energy. It is currently the most efficient plant for this purpose. In Ledesma, we are continuously focused on how to get the best out of it. We also innovate so as to increasingly produce better products with the lowest impact and waste. Only 10% of the sugarcane is sugar. The rest of the sugarcane stem is what traditional Mills have always destined to boilers to generate steam and therefore, energy supply in the form of electrical power they needed to produce sugar and alcohol.
Stocking of sugarcane trash bales. Ledesma agro-industrial complex in Gral. San Martín, Jujuy.
BIOMASS PROJECT
In 2010 we opened a biomass processing plant which adds two new sources of alternative energy: the so called “malhoja” (sugarcane trash) which are leaves and vegetal remains resulting from harvest and wood chips resulting from sustainable plantations. After being processed and turned into biomass, they are used for energy supply, replacing non-renewable energy sources in Ledesma.
Biomass boilers.
ENERGY FORESTRY
Since 2012, wood based on intensive plantation of eucalyptus has been incorporated as another source of biomass.
The aim of the first state of this project is to cover an area of 1,500 ha to generate biomass. High density and short rotation plantations set for forestry purposes allow us to obtain wood to be used in the boilers with 3 to 5 years plantation cutting shifts.
Eucalyptus plantations in our agro-industrial complex in the province of Jujuy.
Apart from these sources of renewable energy generated in the productive process itself, which, as a whole, let us generate almost 50% of the total energy supply we use in our industrial complex, we also use irrigation channels coming from the out-takes located upstream in Ledesma and San Lorenzo rivers to transform this potential energy into electricity, in our hydroelectric power stations. The rest of the energy we use for production purposes is mainly composed by natural gas and diesel, which are used for harvesters and tractors.
