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Too good to be true?
Mar. 10th, 2008 05:44 pmI tend to have a standard reaction to a story like this: Cautious, yet optimistic (Maybe, this time...).
Anyway, today in the Financial Times -- "India finds cheap energy may be an easy nut to crack."
Main quotes:
"Unlike biofuels made from crops such as soybeans and maize, jatropha is inedible, grows on non-arable land and needs little water or care."
...
"With its large number of poor, India is reluctant to use food crops for fuel. Oil from inedible plants is less controversial than soybeans, maize or palm biofuel crops as it does not divert arable land - a trend that has contributed to a jump in global food prices. "In India, we can't afford to even think of using those," says Mr Shukla of biofuel made from food. "If you're growing soya for biodiesel, you're wasting your time, money and land."
He points out that jatropha produces three times more oil per hectare than soybeans. Shrubs mature within a few years, produce seeds for about five decades and require little more than pruning. About 4kg of jatropha nuts yield a litre of oil.
To dispel doubts, Mr Shukla offered to fill the chief minister's car with the yellow liquid. He says Mr Singh, the chief minister, told him: "You can pour it into my car, but if anything goes wrong I'll hang you."
Three years later, Mr Singh insists on running his car only on the home-made biofuel."
Anyway, today in the Financial Times -- "India finds cheap energy may be an easy nut to crack."
Main quotes:
"Unlike biofuels made from crops such as soybeans and maize, jatropha is inedible, grows on non-arable land and needs little water or care."
...
"With its large number of poor, India is reluctant to use food crops for fuel. Oil from inedible plants is less controversial than soybeans, maize or palm biofuel crops as it does not divert arable land - a trend that has contributed to a jump in global food prices. "In India, we can't afford to even think of using those," says Mr Shukla of biofuel made from food. "If you're growing soya for biodiesel, you're wasting your time, money and land."
He points out that jatropha produces three times more oil per hectare than soybeans. Shrubs mature within a few years, produce seeds for about five decades and require little more than pruning. About 4kg of jatropha nuts yield a litre of oil.
To dispel doubts, Mr Shukla offered to fill the chief minister's car with the yellow liquid. He says Mr Singh, the chief minister, told him: "You can pour it into my car, but if anything goes wrong I'll hang you."
Three years later, Mr Singh insists on running his car only on the home-made biofuel."
