Daily Archives: July 21, 2008

Mali: Jatropha Oil Lights Up Villages

 

Jatropha

Image by dracophylla via Flickr

Jatropha biodiesel

Eye on Mali: Jatropha Oil Lights Up Villages
Some 700 communities in Mali have installed biodiesel generators powered by oil from the hardy Jatropha curcas plant to meet their energy needs, according to Reuters. The Malian government is promoting cultivation of the inedible oilseed bush, commonly used as a hedge or medicinal plant, to provide electricity for lighting homes, running water pumps and grain mills, and other critical uses. Mali hopes to eventually power all of the country’s 12,000 villages with affordable, renewable energy sources.

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