The Cacuso Biofuel Plant Expansion project involved the expansion of the biofuel production facility in Malanje province, Angola’s Cacuso district. The US$75 million project included the expansion of a processing unit, the building of warehouses, substations, and transmission units, as well as the installation of turbines and machinery.
By 2019, the expansion would increase the annual production of ethanol from 3,500 m3 to 28,000 m3, and sugar production from 3,200 t to 256,000 t. It would also increase the power generation capacity from 120 t to 235 t. BIOCOM, a temporary consortium (UTE) made up of Sonangol, Sociedade Nacional de CombustÃveis of Angola, and the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht manages the plant.
Reported on 25th September 2014
HIMOINSA power is used at Biocom, one of the biggest biofuel production plants in Angola
HIMOINSA has supplied power using more than 25 generator sets for the construction of one of the most important biofuel manufacturing plants on the African continent. Situated in Cacuso, 75 kilometers from the city of Malanje (Angola), the plant is managed by BIOCOM, a temporary consortium (UTE) comprising Sonangol, Sociedade Nacional de CombustÃveis of Angola, and the Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht.
This bioenergy project, which was scheduled to come on stream in September 2014, has already started to generate 120 megawatts (MW) of electricity and guarantees an annual output of close to 18,000 tonnes of sugar and 3,000 cubic meters of ethanol.
Biocom has estimated annual production will climb to 256,000 tonnes of sugar and 30 million liters of ethanol as of 2019, as well as generating electricity that will be used to increase the amount of power traveling through the Capanda/Cacuso high-voltage cable supplying the municipality and city of Malanje.
During the bioenergy plant’s construction, HIMOINSA – the energy multinational and manufacturer of generator sets and lighting towers – supplied 25 diesel generators and lighting towers of between 180 and 400 kVA. This equipment supplied energy to develop the sugar cane plantation and construct the plant. HIMOINSA ANGOLA also provides technical and maintenance services, having sent technicians to the biofuel plant.
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During the first phase of this bioenergy project, the plant is capable of generating 120 MW/hour of energy, which is expected to rise to 235 MW/hour by 2019. The plant’s current output will supply 220 thousand of homes. Once the 235 MW/hour of energy comes on stream, the power distributed will meet the demand of 440 thousand families.
HIMOINSA ANGOLA’s Commercial Director, Osvaldo de Brito Simao, described the project as “beneficial to the population of Malanje and important for HIMOINSA ANGOLA’s technical and commercial team, who have worked for some time to manufacture and maintain the equipment needed for the project, to guarantee a high-quality and continuous supply of energy, without any outages.
