Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council receives grant to produce jatropha seelings

In Hawaii, the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council received a $677,000 grant for producing jatropha plant seedlings that will be used for biodiesel production in the state. The project will produce 3 million seedlings.

In August,  the Honolulu Advertiser ran an article on Hawaii Electric’s call for more research on jatropha and kukui nuts as biodiesel feedstocks. Hawaii Electric has run into continuing, but not project-threatening, criticism over its plans to begin to use biodiesel to generate electricity. The company is the largest consumer of petroleum diesel in the state.

The call for research into kukui nuts was unusual — jatropha is already well established as a preferred feedstock among people who have concerns about energy yields and the use of foodstocks as biofuel feedstocks. Kukui nuts have been burned as candles for generations owing to their high oil content, and have been also used as a source material for shampoos, soap and in medicines. Kukui flourishes throughout the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, and the oil yield can be up to 20% of the nut weight, or as much as 50 pounds of oil per kukui tree.

Hawaii Electric is building a new power plant, its first in 17 years, and proposes to run the plant on biodiesel. Hawaii, which is exempted from the national Renewable Fuel Standard, has an E10 mandate on the ethanol side.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

Shell, HR Biopetroleum form JV to produce algae oil in Hawaii

In Hawaii, Royal Dutch Shell and HR Biopetroleum will construct an algae-oil production facility to produce feedstocks for biodiesel. The companies created a joint venture, called Cellana, to const...

Dream Fuels partners with Lee County for Florida jatropha demonstration

Dream Fuels donated 1,500 jatropha seedlings  to Lee County for a 1-acre demonstration farm. The county plans to use jatropha and restaurant grease to produce biodiesel fuel for the county fleet. ...

Florida’s Lee County awards $500K to Florida BioFuels’ biodiesel project

In Florida, Lee County voted 3-2 to award a $500,000 grant to Florida BioFuels to facilitate the company's biodiesel production plant. The venture will supply Lee County with biodiesel under a three-y...

Florida firm has 1 million jatropha seedlings in ground as jatropha begins take-off in US

In Florida, My Dream Fuel has 1 million jatropha seedlings in the ground in Hendry County, and is planning to open a 150,000 sq ft seed crushing unit to produce jatropha oil for the US market. The com...

Kauai to test B20 biodiesel in county fleet

In Hawaii, the county of Kauai will pilot test a B20 biodiesel blend in the county fleet. The test will be conducted over two months using biodiesel supplied by Kaua‘i Farm Fuel....

Highlands Ethanol secures Florida county support in Community Development Block Grant app

In Florida, Highlands County commissioners approved a resolution unanimously this week to support a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant application for the proposed $150 million Highlands Ethan...