160
M. T. Sall et al.
Although this example is modest compared to demand at the Senegal River catchment scale, it shows the willingness of one of the most important companies in the
delta to move towards greater IWRM and an improved Water-Energy-Food nexus.
4.3 Proposed Water Energy Food Nexus Approach
4.3.1 At the CSS
At the CSS, the next steps are to better link to the Water-Energy-Food nexus. Further
research and investment required, starting in about 2020, is to:
• Transfer 28 GWh/year of renewable electricity from bagasse to the benefit of the
neighboring population through a connection between the CSS network and the
national network;
• Explore the possibility of cropping a high fiber energy cane on poor soils around
the CSS estate, with the potential to increase renewable electricity production by
CSS, and
• Promote small-scale power station projects to run on high fiber and rustic sugar
cane varieties cropped by smallholders for local electricity production in villages
where electricity is not yet available or too expensive.
In addition to the bagasse already fully utilized at the CSS to produce electricity,
the company will explore the possibility of using all the sugar cane biomass produced
for electricity output. This could exploit surrounding soils that have constraints (poor
quality, difficult to irrigate and/or drain, weedy) that currently make them inefficient
for sugar production.
Within the CSS, the fiber cane (dedicated to energy production) harvesting season
would be outside the sugar cane harvesting season. This way, sugar cane and highfiber production are complementary, optimizing the use of local agricultural labor,
harvesting and mechanized transport equipment. It would also allow the CSS thermal
power plant to be supplied with biomass produced locally, eliminating the demand
for the imported fossil energy required when the bagasse stock is depleted.
This would require the use of appropriate plant varieties, characterized by their
high total biomass and their adaptation to poor or slightly salty soils. The cropping
system would also have to be adapted to minimize the use of imported herbicides
and fertilizers.
Reduction in the use of fertilizers, in particular nitrogen, by reusing potassiumrich combustion ash, can lead to a slight reduction in biomass yield. This can be
compensated by reducing production costs and improving the energy balance of this
biomass production for energy production.
These fields, if located near drainage discharge areas, could, at least in part, reuse
drainage water as irrigation water, enabling fuel cane to work as a filter for pollutants,
particularly nitrates, that can be reused as fertilizer.
M. T. Sall et al.
Although this example is modest compared to demand at the Senegal River catchment scale, it shows the willingness of one of the most important companies in the
delta to move towards greater IWRM and an improved Water-Energy-Food nexus.
4.3 Proposed Water Energy Food Nexus Approach
4.3.1 At the CSS
At the CSS, the next steps are to better link to the Water-Energy-Food nexus. Further
research and investment required, starting in about 2020, is to:
• Transfer 28 GWh/year of renewable electricity from bagasse to the benefit of the
neighboring population through a connection between the CSS network and the
national network;
• Explore the possibility of cropping a high fiber energy cane on poor soils around
the CSS estate, with the potential to increase renewable electricity production by
CSS, and
• Promote small-scale power station projects to run on high fiber and rustic sugar
cane varieties cropped by smallholders for local electricity production in villages
where electricity is not yet available or too expensive.
In addition to the bagasse already fully utilized at the CSS to produce electricity,
the company will explore the possibility of using all the sugar cane biomass produced
for electricity output. This could exploit surrounding soils that have constraints (poor
quality, difficult to irrigate and/or drain, weedy) that currently make them inefficient
for sugar production.
Within the CSS, the fiber cane (dedicated to energy production) harvesting season
would be outside the sugar cane harvesting season. This way, sugar cane and highfiber production are complementary, optimizing the use of local agricultural labor,
harvesting and mechanized transport equipment. It would also allow the CSS thermal
power plant to be supplied with biomass produced locally, eliminating the demand
for the imported fossil energy required when the bagasse stock is depleted.
This would require the use of appropriate plant varieties, characterized by their
high total biomass and their adaptation to poor or slightly salty soils. The cropping
system would also have to be adapted to minimize the use of imported herbicides
and fertilizers.
Reduction in the use of fertilizers, in particular nitrogen, by reusing potassiumrich combustion ash, can lead to a slight reduction in biomass yield. This can be
compensated by reducing production costs and improving the energy balance of this
biomass production for energy production.
These fields, if located near drainage discharge areas, could, at least in part, reuse
drainage water as irrigation water, enabling fuel cane to work as a filter for pollutants,
particularly nitrates, that can be reused as fertilizer.