India''s Ongoing Incentives to Develop
Alternative FuelsCultivation of jatropha for biodiesel and dhaincha for biomass very
promisingGlobal warming is engulfing the biosphere at a rapid pace, setting in
motion strange climatic changes. Humans are paying the price of messing
with the environment over the centuries, while continuing to do so.
Pollution levels are at an all-time high in India''s capital, Delhi,
with other metro regions like Mumbai and Calcutta vying for second
place.
The increasing industrial and residential use of diesel generators is
adding to the global warmup, even at the village level, while the
search for
alternative fuels continues unabated.
The cultivation of the jatropha plant in the western States of Goa and Maharashtra and dhaincha in the northeastern State of Bihar is increasingly being promoted as promising an alternative to diesel fuel in India.
In Goa,
biodiesel derived from Jatropha curcas, locally
known as "erond," is becoming more widespread. Fr. Inacio Almeida, of
Pilar, Goa, runs the Nature Farm of the Society of Pilar (or Society of
the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier-ed.) and is a leading
popularizer of jatropha as a feedstock for the production of biodiesel.
Jatropha until recently was routinely used as stumps for damming paddy
fields and orchards.
"One liter of fuel can be extracted from 3 kg of jatropha seeds," says
Fr. Almeida. Among the developments he envisions is for “each village
in Goa to have its own jatropha plantation and extraction machinery."<*>
Generators using refined diesel have latterly been resorted to by
householders, as well as small businesses, in Goa, in lieu of tapping
into an increased central electrical generating capacity. This reliance
is expected to change in the next few years, as jatropha biodiesel
predominates.
Kanti Naik runs a small ice cream parlor in Assolna village in south
Goa. As elsewhere in Goa the electrical power supply here is
undependable, so he relies for backup power on a small, portable diesel
generator worth INR 10,000 (US$228). Nearby, Alexander Barbosa also has
recourse to a similar diesel generator for his cold-storage meat
warehouse.
For these two businessmen the diesel generator has become a necessity,
and increasing numbers of Goan householders have been using them to
power their TV sets.
"For many villages it''s a case of either clean air or television," says
Nandita Mongia, chief of the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Regional
Energy Program for Asia and the Pacific.
Figures arrived at by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New
Delhi point to a mushrooming of the number of these diesel generators
throughout India.
The diesel-powered generator has been a hit with people across the
country. A liter of refined diesel costs INR 13 (US$.30) vs INR 50
(US$1.14) for gasoline.<**>
Pretty cheap, compared with Western countries, given that India is not a major producer of oil.
India imports most of its petroleum products, which are heavily
subsidized before they reach the retail market, especially gasoline,
diesel fuel and kerosene.