Project Justification

The project has been formulated within the context of the United Nations Convention to combat desertification and climate change mitigation. It is also in line with the OP 4 strategy of the GEF-SGP in Ghana. The project also fulfils the National Poverty Reduction Strategy. Investment in biofuel will earn farmers ready cash which can be used to sustainable land management. The residues of jatropha and sunflower will be used as organic fertilizer to improve soil fertility. Farmers can maintain and farm on old farmlands for a long time without destroying new /virgin lands. They will be assisted. There is a guaranteed market for the products.

It is estimated that 1,000 hectares will be cultivated to grow sunflower and jatropha and agroforestry. In the short term (3 months), sunflower seeds will be used to produce crude sunflower oil for biodiesel. In the long term (18 months), jatropha will augment the biodiesel output.

[…] The rate was fastest in South Dakota and Iowa, with as much as 5 per cent of pasture becoming cropland each year.

The trend is being driven by rising demand for the crops, partly through incentives to use them as fuels instead of food.

The switch from meadows to crops is causing a crash in populations of ground-nesting birds. […]

Oil companies like Sunoco buy RINs from biofuel producers to earn credits to meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). RINs are used to track each gallon of a biofuel as part of the federal rule. […]

There is a need for audits and accountability in the marketplace. The biodiesel industry saw several distressing – and mysterious – episodes last year. Jeffrey David Gunselman, former CEO of Absolut Fuels, was arrested for pilfering more than $50 million in fake RIN credits without producing any of the biodiesel. Rodney Hailey, who headed Clean Green Fuel LLC, alledgedly made $9.1 million selling renewable fuel credits that were not delivered.  […]

The bill also directs the Department of Energy to establish a revolving loan fund for energy developers to drill wells during the exploratory phase of geothermal energy projects.

Advances in geothermal technology have the potential to produce more than half of the current U.S. electricity production. […] Montana has more than 50 geothermal areas and at least 15 high-temperature sites.

Tester’s Geothermal Exploration and Technology Act is cosponsored by Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska).

CHP projects, also known as "cogeneration," involve the capture of heat produced during electricity generation and the use of it to provide on-site heat or hot water to buildings, for manufacturing or for other purposes.

These installations are capable of achieving higher levels of fuel efficiency by simultaneously producing both electric and useful thermal energy at the facility where the energy is needed.  […]

This program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will only fund CHP systems that can continue to operate during a grid outage. In addition, all applicants in flood zones must install systems in locations that would be "high and dry" in the wake of a worst-case flood scenario.

The requirement is separate from a 2010 law that requires regulators to set energy storage mandates for utilities in 2015 and 2020. [….]

Edison’s applications for the Los Angeles-area energy storage resources are expected to be submitted in late 2013 or early 2014 […] The amount of energy storage added may be more than 50 megawatts, because the commission also authorized the utility to procure as much as an additional 600 megawatts from energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation or energy storage resources, according to the filing.

As sensing becomes wireless (in order to eliminate costs of wiring, retro-fitting etc.) and energy harvesting technologies start to provide reliable sources of power that allows networking hundreds or even thousands of them […] lighting becomes even more sustainable and cost-efficient. A systemic approach shows how cost structures over the complete lifetime of smart power management systems leads to lower bills for power, with many examples […]

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