Addax Bioenergy starts building ethanol refinery, biomass power plant in Sierra Leone

Nov 11, 2011 - Addax Bioenergy, a unit of Swiss energy group Addax and Oryx Group Ltd (AOG), yesterday broke ground on an ethanol refinery and biomass power plant as part of an integrated biomass energy and agriculture project in Sierra Leone.

The EUR-267-million (USD 195.1m) project started in 2008 and included also the development of a sugarcane plantation. The sugarcane produced at the plantation will be converted into bioethanol for distribution in the European and domestic markets. The power plant will process sugarcane residues to produce electricity and power the refinery and supply some 20% of Sierra Leone's national grid.

The refinery and the power plant are scheduled to become operational in 2013 and start commercial production in 2014. The refinery will have the capacity to produce 90,000 cu m (3 million cu ft) of ethanol a year, while the power plant will have an electricity generation capacity 15 MW.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.731)

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