Hawaii looking to get jatropha trees for biodiesel stock
Domestic Fuel's John Davis calls growing jatropha trees in Hawaii a "no-brainer." One of Hawaii's Senators, Daniel Akaka, is also in favor, and calls a recent $677,000 federal grant to the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council (HCEOC) to mass cultivate Jatropha curcas plant seedlings for commercial biodiesel production "an important step forward in our vision for a self sustaining energy future for Hawaii and our goal of significantly reducing green house gas emissions."Of all the islands in Hawaii, the actual island of Hawaii, more commonly known as the Big Island, is really the only place where there is enough land to grow crops for biofuels. This particular project might be as good as Akaka says, but I still stand by my call to make Hawaii the real electric car capital of the world.
[Source: Sen. Akaka via Domestic Fuel]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tony Belding 5:37PM (10/06/2007)
I agree with you on this. . . Electric cars in Hawaii should be a "no-brainer", especially with all the solar and geothermal potential Hawaii has to offer.
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tim 9:58AM (10/07/2007)
Instead of including a battery in your picture, you should have included a smaller picture of barren depleted soil where there was once a paradise. The battery is a natural partner of renewable ELECTRIC power and BEVs are perfect for islands with lots of sun and wind and limited commutes.
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rgseidl 10:09AM (10/07/2007)
Jatropha curcas is a very a labor-intensive crop to cultivate, so it might not be quite the no-brainer suggested here. Also, Hawaii is subject to the EPA regs on diesel emissions, another reason why the solution would end up being quite expensive.
BEVs or PHEVs might make more in Hawaii, if typical daily mileage on the islands are short enough *and* the electricity can be generated from renewable sources incl. geothermal and biogas in particular.
Relative to the other islands, Kahoolawe is fairly flat. It is also uninhabited, virtually devoid of flora and fauna and could - in theory - be exploited for salt water algaculture. The required racetrack ponds could be created crudely but inexpensively with explosives and then lined with plastic. The water lost to biomass production and evaporation would need to be pumped uphill, so the higher elevations would be reserved for solar and/or wind power plants that would also support on-site biomass processing and fuel production.
However, between 1941 and 1990, the US Navy used the island to train its pilots in precision bombing. Even after a decade-long, $400 million clean-up effort, the island remains dangerously littered with unexploded ordnance. Perhaps most of what remains in the ground would be rendered harmless in the process of creating the racetrack ponds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahoolawe
Using solar and/or wind directly for charging BEVs is more problematic because supply and demand are usually mismatched. Temporary buffer storage facilities are either not available (airtight subterranean voids) or neither feasible nor acceptable (ugly hydro dams, unless you decide to use Kahoolawe for that purpose). Using stationary battery banks, superflywheels or electrolysis + hydrides for hydrogen are all very expensive.
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TX CHL Instructor 2:19PM (10/07/2007)
Jatropha a no-brainer in Hawaii? Only if you have no brain, I suppose. The economics of algae handily overwhelm any other biodiesel feedstock -- especially in places where real estate is scarce.
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S.A.Alagarsamy 8:43AM (10/23/2007)
Hello sir
I was in Hawaii in 2000 and it is wise to look for Algae biodiesel ...Hawaii is not having so much of land...we in India do Jatropha Plantation...pl you can post my pictures from my web site how we change barren soils into green Jatropha plantations,,,we never go to give a fight for food products and never using edible oils for biodeisel..
S.A.Alagarsamy
www.mgrbiodiesel.com
India
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AJIKUMAR 11:35AM (1/21/2008)
We are one of the largest exporter of Jatropha seed for cultivation and oil extraction and also export the Jatropha oil cake for fertlizer use. If you are interested, please contact with us :
athulyaexports@yahoo.com
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VISALA 12:26PM (1/30/2008)
We are in a source of jatropha seed, oils and cake based in India, Rajasthan (Jaipur). Please contact smith.ajay@hotmail.com
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