- The Company currently produces 100 tonnes of pellets from about 200 tonnes of sugarcane bagasse.
- The company sells 1 kilogram of pellets between Sh. 21 and Sh. 25.
Powerspot Pelletizers, a local company in Kakamega, has set up a plant that produces pellets from sugarcane bagasse in Kakamega. The pellets, which are smokeless, are then used as fuel in jikos burners and can act as an alternative to charcoal and firewood, thereby preserving trees from being felled for charcoal burning. The Company currently produces 100 tonnes of pellets from about 200 tonnes of sugarcane bagasse.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer Alfonso Acebal says plans are underway to set up a similar plant with a higher capacity to produce more than 2000 tonnes of pellets from about 4500 to 5000 tonnes of sugar bagasse. He says the raw materials, sugarcane bagasse, are abundant. Once the new plant is set up, it will offer a big relief to sugar companies which dispose of excess sugarcane bagasse.
The company sells 1kilogram of pellets for between Sh. 21 and Sh. 25. Local community members from Kabras have already embraced the Jikos and are now using pellets as a source of fuel for cooking and using the thermoelectric jiko to power their electric appliances like phones and to light bulbs. He says they are finalizing research to come up with institutional Jikos which use pellets as fuel for supply to schools to minimize use of firewood. He says once fully done, then schools, other institutions and industries that have boilers and burners will cut costs of up to 60 percent and also save the environment from tree felling.