What would happen if each plant managed to be self-sufficient in energy and contribute something extra?
Clean, orderly, safe at all times, the generation area. (Photo: Pastor Batista Valdés).
It is a real shame that, for reasons largely beyond the control of its managers and other workers, the Melanio Hernández sugar mill, located in Tuinucú, Sancti Spíritus, cannot be grinding much more.
What it has been achieving since the beginning of the harvest, in the energy field, could be described as benchmark or, at least, worthy of imitation; Not only because Melanio is one of the very few sugar companies that today are self-sufficient in energy in the country.
The thing is that, as Antonio Viamontes Perdomo, its director, explains, it resolves internal needs from its own generation and, on top of that, delivers 26 percent to the network, or in other words, around a quarter more. We are talking about almost 2,900 kilowatts from December 26 to date. Said in good Cuban: while I am grinding I do not consume anything and, furthermore, I contribute.
Traditionally, the aforementioned company has had positive results in terms of generation, among other things due to the pressure on this activity, and because it has a very professional and dedicated team that has put gray matter and knowledge into reducing consumption, replacing overdriven motors, further compact the process…
The 60-ton boiler installed years ago, and that pair of turbogenerators (from the Soviet era), with a capacity of eight megawatts between them, and which when the plant grinds well, generate seven, continue to attest to this. The factory consumes around four and, therefore, three go cleanly into the national grid.
After timely evaluations, a fairer payment was achieved for the energy delivered by the sugar sector, as long as the factory is self-sufficient, a concept for which Melanio Hernández has earned some 19 million pesos that not only make themselves felt positively in the company’s finances, but also in the pockets of the workers.
None of it falls from the sky. Lightning strike is natural. The energy that a plant produces, uses for its own benefit, or contributes to the Cuban economy, comes through intelligence and the human capacity to use the equipment involved in the process well, and make the most of a resource or by-product. apparently trivial called bagasse, whose final destination cannot be better than that given by the specialists and workers of the Melanio Hernández, when it is converted into light and currency.
The question may seem unnecessary, but… would the situation be the same everywhere if each plant managed to be self-sufficient and contribute extra?
