Algae could be the new bio-diesel source

Indrani Dutta

Sunderbans chosen as a site for proposed algae cultivation

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"Algae as a bio-diesel source better than jatropha"

3 cultivation sites found; work may start by December

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KOLKATA: The Sundarbans delta, an archipelago of some 100 islands spread over 4,262 sq. km. on the Indian side of the Bay of Bengal, is becoming the incubator of ecology-friendly energy sources which are now lighting up the lives of many people who may never get access to conventional forms of electricity or grid power.

A new chapter will open if the efforts to try out algae cultivation in order to extract bio-diesel reaches fruition. It comes on the back of success achieved in tapping renewable energy forms such as solar, wind, biomass and solar-wind hybrids. A 10 MW capacity has already been created in this remote deltaic marshland which is the world's largest mangrove swamp.

Sources told The Hindu that a Chennai-based company, Bio Max, is keen on setting up an algae cultivation project, on one of the uninhabited Sundarbans islands. S.P. Gonchowdhury, director, West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Ag ency, said the economics of algae as a bio-diesel source was better than jatropha which needed land for cultivation, while algae could be grown on marshy lands. A presentation on the proposed project has been made by the company before the West Bengal government. Confirming its interest in the project, N.S. Balamukundan, director, Bio Max, told The Hindu that three sites in the Sundarbans had been identified and work may start by December. An investment of Rs. 80 crore is proposed acc ording to Mr. Balamukundan.

However, in the wake of the ongoing controversy over land acquisition, government officials are tight-lipped about the proposed project. This is despite the fact that only 54 of the Sundarbans islands are inhabited and this project needing 1,000 acres will come up on one of the many tracts of land (called "chor" in Bengali) created by the ebbs and tides of the many rivers that criss-cross the area. West Bengal Minister for Sundarbans Kanti Ganguly said any project in the ecologically fragile area would be allowed only after taking measures to preserve the environment and getting all regulatory clearances from New Delhi. "As for land, preference would be on giving government-owned land, keeping farm lands and homesteads intact."