LONDON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- BP on Thursday said it will fund a $9.4 million project in India to see if biodiesel can be produced from a non-edible oil bearing crop.
The project by The Energy and Resources Institute in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh will study the feasibility of producing biodiesel from the crop Jatropha Curcas.
The 10-year project will cultivate around 8,000 hectares of wasteland with the crop and install equipment needed for seed crushing, oil extraction and processing -- to produce 9 million liters of biodiesel per year. The project will also include an environmental and social impact assessment.
"Because Jatropha is drought resistant and can grow on marginal land, it offers the possibility of an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable contribution to energy security challenges in India," said Phil New, senior vice president of BP's fuels management group, in a statement.
TERI will run the project's daily operations.
"Recent developments have made green fuels economically attractive in view of the resource potential of this option and the environmental benefits associated with it, along with employment generation and empowerment of the rural population," TERI Director General, R.K. Pachauri said in a statement.
