Image above: A jatropha plantation in India claims it produces diesel fuel at 150 gallons per acre per year. From (http://www.svlele.com/jatropha_plant.htm)
By Craig Gima on 8 March 2010 in the Star Bulletin -
(http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100308_small_biofuel_farm_bears_fruit.html)
About two years ago they planted jatropha, an oil-rich nut native to South America, on 250 acres in Keaau on Hawaii island. They have leased another 750 acres that could be put into production if the crop is successful.
The plants take two to four years to mature, but last summer they were able to harvest their first, small crop -- enough to make a few gallons of biodiesel and run some tests on the oil they produced.
"At this point it's looking promising, but we don't know for certain if it will work yet," Christian Twigg-Smith said.
Their venture, called HIPPO for Hawaii Pure Plant Oil, is the first commercial biofuel plantation in the state.
"We have to go into agriculture if we want to displace the amount of petroleum that we need to meet the goals of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative," said Kelly King, vice president at Pacific Biodiesel, which will refine the jatropha oil HIPPO produces into biodiesel fuel. "The only other option is to ship in oil from somewhere else and that doesn't add to our energy security. It doesn't add to our sustainability."
The state has set a goal to reduce its dependence on petroleum and meet 70 percent of current energy needs with clean energy by 2030 through conservation and the use of alternative energy.
King said Hawaii has the potential to grow enough fuel crops to refine 20 million to 22 million gallons of biodiesel a year. Tesoro Hawaii, by comparison, has the capacity to refine 93,500 barrels -- 3.9 million gallons -- of crude oil per day.
The University of Hawaii has been conducting research on the feasibility of growing jatropha in the state for fuel. But their plots have been much smaller, perhaps an acre or two, and researchers say they are still a long way from determining whether jatropha can be commercially successful in Hawaii.
That has not deterred Christian and James Twigg-Smith, sixth- and seventh-generation descendants of a missionary family.
"It just comes down to farming. There's no real secret to it," James Twigg-Smith said. "Instead of food, we're growing fuel. We're dependent on both at the moment."
Christian Twigg-Smith, who also owns a coffee farm and construction company, said growing jatropha is similar to coffee because both are row crops, and the nuts have to be husked and dried before they are pressed for their oil.
It takes about 100 pounds of nuts to make one gallon of biodiesel, Christian Twigg-Smith said.
The first crop was harvested by hand, but the farmers are gearing up for their second-year harvest this summer and are looking to buy a mechanical harvester.
They are seeking $1.3 million in financing to help purchase the equipment, a cold press to get the oil out of the nut and a covered building for the processing and storage of the nuts.
Because the plants are still maturing, Christian Twigg-Smith said they will not really know how commercially viable the plantation is until about the fourth year.
"If you never try to figure it out, you'll never know," he said. "My son and I just decided to do this, and we want to see it through."
James Twigg-Smith said he and his father were careful to grow jatropha on land that is not being used so as not to displace farmlands growing food.
He said they also looked at growing kukui nuts or oil palms for biofuel but settled on jatropha because it seemed the most commercially viable.
"We're confident in what we're doing. It's not just a complete shot in the dark," James Twigg-Smith said. "We feel like it is going to be successful."
See also: Island Breath: Jatropha as jet fuel? 6/12/08 Island Breath: Answer to ethanol? - Jatropha 9/8/07
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