Prospects of Bagasse as a feasible bio-fuel for electricity generation in Pakistan — A realistic approach

Pakistan is facing an acute shortage of electricity power since former few decades. The main reason behind the fact is that there has always been a lack of courtesy by the policy and decision makers of the country towards enhancing the installed capacity of the sector, as well as discovering other ways to implore the power from renewable resources. Pakistan is an agricultural country whose economy is primarily based on the agronomic yields, one of which is sugarcane — a cash crop. Thru the process of extraction of sugar from the sugarcane, a stuff named Bagasse is leftover which has been evidenced as a viable bio-fuel. Numerous countries across the globe are consuming Bagasse to generate electricity, but regrettably in our country, this valued renewable resource has mostly been thrown away as a mere trash. Keeping in view the country's existing yield of Bagasse, Pakistan has an estimated capacity of about 3000 MW of electricity generation by its usage. The rest of the paper is structured as follows: The first part involves a brief description of Bagasse, its recent usage and significance as a bio-fuel across the globe. The second part highlights its existing usage in Pakistan — stressing its importance. The third part focuses the prospects of its consumption in the country, based on both the existing as well as the projected outputs. In the concluding part, some recommendations are underscored for its optimal usage to counter the electricity shortfall.