More about Biofuel programs

Govt's biofuel dream fails to take off
....by...Dilip Kumar Jha & Sanjay Jog / Business Standard newspaper.

It was supposed to replace a fifth of India's diesel consumption by
2011 – a projection that led the government to identify 4,00,000
square kms (98 million acres) of land where it could be grown.'It'
here being jatropha, a genus of around 175 succulent plants, shrubs
and trees, touted as one of nature's answers to the global energy
crisis. The seed produces an oil substitute for diesel — each seed
containing 30-35 per cent oil and 65-70 per cent oil cake. A single
hectare can yield 1,500-1,755 litres of jatropha oil, equivalent to
1,668 litres of biodiesel.

And so, many private companies, from Reliance Industries to many small
and non-household names, plus public sector majors Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum
(HPCL), made huge investments in jatropha and solvent extraction
plants to produce bio-diesel.But, nothing's so easy in nature.
Initially, the industry thought jatropha could be grown on wasteland,
without irrigation. They got it wrong, as good care is required for at
least three years of the total plant life of 40-45 years, in which
moderate irrigation is also required, says Preeti Kaur, an analyst
with the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA).

And so, investments worth over $5 billion across the country are stuck
due to failure of jatropha plantations. The companies in question are
now putting money in research and development to introduce
high-quality drought-tolerant seeds in a bid to save their
investments.

"The plans have almost failed and our investments are stuck due to the
poor quality of jatropha seeds. Other than this, small land holdings
is a major reason for failure of jatropha plantations," said Kaur.It's
not that jatropha is an unknown commodity. The oil from jatropha
curcas seeds is used to make biodiesel fuel in the Philippines and
Brazil. Jatropha oil is also being promoted as an easily-grown biofuel
crop in hundreds of projects across the globe. In India, too, jatropha
has been planted along the railway line between Mumbai and Delhi. The
train fuel itself has 15-20 per cent biodiesel.

According to a study by Mumbai-based Jatropha Agro, one tree yields up
to two-three kg jatropha seeds per year under normal conditions
without drip irrigation. One hectare can have 2,500 plants,
constituting a total yield of 5,000 kg, or five tonnes. That is not
enough. At present, 76 leading research institutes are working
overtime to introduce a new genotype of a higher yield.The national
biofuel policy had mooted that jatropha be grown on a big enough scale
to produce 'green' fuel, enough to replace as much as 20 per cent of
petrol and diesel consumption by 2017. This would require bio-energy
plantations over between 30 million and 40 million hectares, more than
the total area under wheat today. The Centre has allocated Rs 5,000
crore to spur the cultivation of the plant.

For instance, petroleum ministry sources say BPCL has planted jatropha
trees on vacant land at various depots is to launch a project to set
up a biodiesel value chain in UP. The project envisages planting
biofuel on land belonging to panchayats, covering a million acres of
wasteland over a period of time. The UP government has accorded its
approval and the process to identify the wasteland is on.

IOC has entered into a deal with the railways to study what can be
done. It has taken up plantation on 62 hectares railway land at
Surendranagar in Gujarat. About 1,50,000 saplings have been planted at
the site.IOC has also formed a venture with the Chhattisgarh
government to produce 30,000 tonnes biodiesel per annum by planting
jatropha over 30,000 hectares of revenue wasteland. However, progress
has been tardy: Of the 30,000 hectares, plantation has been done only
on 626 hectares.

Similar plans were prepared for Madhya Pradesh, where the state
government made an offer of 2,000 hectares of wasteland in Jhabua
district. However, IOC could get only 241 hectares during 2009. In
Rajasthan, in 2008, the state government asked IOC to undertake
plantation on 20,000 hectares of degraded forest land in Dungarpur. A
feasibility study is underway.

"We are aware of the problems and are working with research institutes
to develop high-yield seeds to make the project viable," said Dinesh
Shahra, managing director of Ruchi Soya Industries, which plans to
become India's largest biodiesel producer by 2020. The company is
looking at one-million-tonne biodiesel production by the end of the
decade, of which about 600,000 tonnes will be jatropha oil.Ruchi Soya
has entered into a 50:50 partnership with IOC for planting jatropha in
Uttar Pradesh. The project will cost Rs 437 crore, a part of which
will be funded by the UP government under the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) scheme. This will also enable the
company claim carbon credits. However, the feasibility report is still
being prepared.

Companies will succeed only if they invest on research and
development, work in close relationship with farmers and provide for
the latter's livelihood during the three gestation years. Without such
backing the effort will die, says Souparna Lahiri of the National
Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers.
....by...Dilip Kumar Jha & Sanjay Jog / Business Standard newspaper
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/govt%5Cs-biofuel-dream-fails-to-take-off/393063/