Business

The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica's Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy (CERE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Research and Development Division are partnering on a J$13.59 million biodiesel project that, if successful, should open up new crops to farming.

The joint venture agreement, which was signed last Thursday, is not meant to produce biodiesel, but to test whether Jamaican can viability grow the feedstock.

The project will establish 10 acres of inter-cropped jatropha and castor plants at the Bodles Research Station in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

The research will consider the harvest potential under prevailing climatic condition and will seek to determine the productivity of feedstock varieties on marginal lands.

renewable energy

"Jamaica's energy mix is 91 per cent dependent on imported petroleums and nine per cent comes from indigenous resources. With the advent of an ethanol mandate, we have seen an increase in renewable energy sources, even though there is not a local source as yet," acting manager of CERE, Denise Tulloch, said at the signing.

"So CERE is working to ensure that we have local production and our farmers can understand the economics, the cost and the benefits of pursuing this pathway."

The project is to be completed in June 2015.

Other fields of beans will be established at Orange River and Montpelier research stations if the pilot project is successful.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com