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How sweet it is - cane that lights up your life
15 Jun 2004
The Condong mill near Murwillumbah will crush another crop of Tweed Valley sugar cane next week, just as it has for over 100 years. But for the 660 sugarcane farmers of the Tweed, Richmond and Clarence valleys on the NSW North Coast this harvest could be one of the last. They have struggled for profitability for years and had their final hopes dashed when sugar was excluded from the US-Australia free trade agreement. They say the Federal Government's big rescue package is not enough.
While Queensland cane farmers want to diversify into ethanol fuel, NSW growers want to turn the Condong and Broadwater mills into green power stations. The Condong mill burns bagasse and generates about three megawatts of electricity an hour during the harvest, and uses most of the power itself. But through modernisation the mill could produce 30 megawatts an hour all year round - half of the Tweed Valley's requirements. The NSW Canegrowers' Association says no other cane industry is doing this. Upgrading both mills would cost $100 million and the association is hoping the Federal Government will provide more funding so power generation can begin in 2006.
Sydney Morning Herald, 15/6/04.
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