India will move seriously into biodiesel territory

For countries like Japan, with little arable farmland to dedicate to growing fuel crops, biofuel is a difficult proposition. But for large countries like India (and Brazil and the U.S.) biofuels are well worth pursuing. Last Friday, Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's gave an address at the inauguration of a biodiesel conference focusing on energy independence in Hyderabad that sets India on the road to serious biodiesel production and consumption. Kalam said that "India has nearly 60 million hectares of wasteland, of which 30 million hectares can be made available for energy plantations" and that India's "aim should be to produce minimum 2 tonnes of biodiesel per year per hectare, which will result in the production of 60 M/tonnes per year in full capacity in an optimistic environment."
India's long-term goal is to be energy independent by 2030. This will involve hydro and nuclear power generation along with biofuels and other renewables. Renewable energy should make up 25 percent of India's energy use, Kalam said. Kalam's 11-point plant to increase domestic production of biofuels includes vehicle manufacturers building vehicles that can use B100. The goal is to have all trucks in India use B100 by 2012.

[Source: Indian Government, Thanks to Razib Ahmed]