Havana, June 17 (AIN).- Energy generation in the sugar industry is one of most advanced technological efforts being undertaken in Cuba, stated one of that country’s industrial officials at a meeting in Havana Thursday.

The industry has been allocating substantial resources to power generation, aware that self-supply of electricity in the sugar sector is indispensable for reducing expenses, said Manuel Díaz, vice-president of the Institute of Sugar Derivatives Research (ICIDCA) speaking with the AIN Cuban News Agency.

Díaz pointed out that by burning sugar cane biomass they generated 98 percent of the electricity consumed for all harvesting operations, thus reducing environmental pollution and conserving nonrenewable energy sources.

The official also announced plans for the setting up of residual- processing plants to get the most out of bagasse, the dry pulpy residue left after the extraction of juice from sugar cane, which though low in caloric value is an abundant leftover.

He said they have increased energy production by making use of steam-turbo generators from sugar mills that were closed down during the agro-industrial reorganization process in search of heightened competitiveness and efficiency.

Begun in 2002, the restructuring entailed the termination of 70 sugar mills, with the land used in stead for sustainable food- growing.

The vice-president of ICIDCA said that in order to avoid joblessness as a result of the deep-reaching transformations, a large-scale educational program was introduced, in which 120,300 workers were retrained and re-employed, including the 100,000 sugar-industry workers who were directly affected.

The ICIDCA is the chief sponsor of the Eighth International Congress on Sugar and Sugar Cane Derivatives, underway until Friday at the capital’s Havana Libre Hotel.