Turning sugar cane waste into electricityA sugar cane factory in Gangakhed generates electricity from waste from sugar production, such as bagasse. Because this works so well, the factory buys additional biomass from surrounding farmers, such as cow dung. The farmers thus earn something in addition, and the factory saves CO2 emissions in two ways. Firstly, the biomass would rot and release a lot of methane into the atmosphere. On the other hand, it no longer needs fossil fuels for production. Excess electricity is fed into the local grid and supplies other households.
How biomass projects help contribute to climate changeBiomass refers to organic residues such as tree branches, leaves, sawdust, wood chips or coconut shells. Those are of a biogenic, non-fossil nature that can be used to generate renewable energy. One way to generate renewable energy, among others, is to fire kilns using biomass. This process prevents harmful smoke and large quantities of CO2 to be released.
As an additional greenhouse gas reduction measure, biomass climate projects mostly prevent biomass from rotting in the open air, so that no methane (CH4) is released. Biomass projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
