New Challenger

Here’s another candidate claiming to be the perfect source of biofuels: jatropha.

My Dream Fuel, a Florida farming company backed by an Indian tech firm and a Costa Rican agriculture operation, is trying to convince U.S. farmers to buy and raise jatropha, which it claims is ideal for biodiesel production.

The numbers are impressive. The trees cost $6 to $7, according to an article by the Associated Press, and can be grown 400 to an acre. When harvested, each tree yields more than two gallons of oil that can be converted to biodiesel. The company says the trees are easy to maintain and require little water or care.

Jatropha-based fuel has already powered some commercial air flights, and the energy giant BP is involved in jatropha projects in India and Africa.

The downside, naturally, is convincing people to take a leap of faith and actually cultivate the trees. The economics, the basic numbers, aren’t always enough to make the case when they’re all based on rosy projections that assume a market for a new product. You can’t blame farmers for being wary, and doing something new is always a little scary. But that shouldn’t be a reason not to try.