In Hawaii, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and TerViva announced plans to cultivate pongamia on 250 acres of former sugar plantation lands in Central Maui. TerViva estimates pongamia can produce more than 400 gallons of oil per acre, which can be used to produce biofuels. The residue from the pressing process is a seed cake which […]
In Hawaii, Alexander&Baldwin is looking to team up with California-based TerViva to scale up the company’s small-scale pongamia trials on the island to a demonstration-scale project with 250 acres of former sugarcane plantation. If the initial demo goes well, the project could be scaled up further to 2,000 acres with the oil used for biofuel […]
In Hawaii, the owner of Hawaiian Cane & Sugar, Alexander & Baldwin, has announced plans for the transition of its extensive 36,000 acres of sugarcane plantations in Maui to a wide range of crops including pongamia orchards for biodiesel and other crops for biogas production. Other uses for the former sugarcane land are expected to […]
In India, researchers from the Institute of Wood Science & Technology under Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education of found that pongamia trees that are being promoted as a biodiesel feedstock are susceptible to infestations of the gall midge. The midge lays its eggs in the pongamia flowers and over time destroys the flowers […]
Castor, jatropha, pongamia — the three steps that Bosques Energeticos is taking in piloting its way to success in fuels, chemicals and other markets. Can the early-stage company thrive, based on its uncommon approach to intercropping? The Digest investigates. In science, there exists the difficulty in developing a new energy crop — improving yields and stress tolerance, […]
In the Bahamas, Bio Revolution Americas plans to invest $200 million in a pongamia biodiesel project based on an outgrower model that would spread across unused arable land on several islands. The company says it has already installed two oilseed crushing plants in the US and plans to install six more in the next two […]
In Fiji, Biofuels International Fiji says it has lost about a half million dollars’ worth of pongamia trees due to arson. About 200,000 trees have been planted, but repeated arson attacks since 2012 has led to the loss of thousands of trees. Local police authorities say that fires resulted from neighboring farms whose fires burning […]
In Fiji, Biofuel International plans to start producing biofuel from pongamia next year following four years of growing trials. The company has planted more than 250,000 pongamia trees. It claims annual production of 125kg of seeds per tree with up to 40% oil. They say 4kg of seeds are required to produce 1 liter of […]
In India, Tree Oils India will study the feasibility of pongamia as a feedstock for biodiesel in a five-year collaboration with the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture. The study will currently take place on TOIL’s R&D farm and the laboratories of CRIDA in Hyderabad, but may also include the pilot integrated pongamia plantation project […]
In Ethiopia, VayuGrid has signed an MOU with multiple parties to create a biofuels cluster for pongamia in Ethiopia. The cluster will generate $2.5M in investment opportunity as Ethiopia moves toward developing a biofuel park. Phase 1 of the project will involve bringing in a local partner to acquire land and labor, and to secure […]
