$61 million biomass plant opened in Mexico

The plant is owned by Grupo Piasa, a company run jointly by a number of Mexican bottlers, including Arca Continental, a major bottler for Coca-Cola in Latin America. It is capable of producing 50MW/h.

The project has received $61 million (€49.8 million) over three years and uses waste from sugarcane milling to generate steam for electricity production. The power will go to running the sugarcane mill and to associated bottlers. Excess power is delivered to the Mexican Federal Energy Commission.

By cogenerating heat and electricity, Grupo Piasa hopes to boost the plant’s efficiency.

Arca Continental says that the plant will allow Grupo Piasa to replace 4.5 million litres of fossil fuels annually, reducing CO₂ emissions by 14,000 tonnes.

In a statement, chairman of the board at Grupo Piasa Jaime Sánchez Fernández said that it is important to consider social as well as fiscal responsibilities when running a business and emphasised partnerships with public bodies and the communities to do this.