Life cycle assessment of village electrification based on straight jatropha oil in Chhattisgarh, India

A decentralized power generation plant fuelled by straight jatropha oil was implemented in 2006 in Ranidhera, Chhattisgarh, India. The goal of this study was to assess the environmental sustainability of that electrification project in order to provide a scientific basis for policy decisions on electrifying remote villages. A full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted on jatropha-based rural electrification and then compared with other electrification approaches such as photovoltaic (PV), grid connection and a diesel-fuelled power generator. In summary, the jatropha-based electrification in Ranidhera reduces greenhouse gas emissions over the full life cycle by a factor of 7 compared to a diesel generator or grid connection. The environmental performance is only slightly improved, mainly due to the high air pollution from pre-heating the jatropha seeds. With additional measures oil extraction and overall efficiency could be further improved. However, environmental benefits can only be achieved if jatropha is cultivated on marginal land and land use competition can be excluded. Under these conditions, jatropha-based electricity generation might be a useful alternative to other renewable electrification options, as the technology is very sturdy and can be maintained even in remote and highly under-developed regions.

[1]  J. Chikara,et al.  Contribution of Jatropha curcas to soil quality improvement in a degraded Indian entisol , 2008 .

[2]  Debajit Palit,et al.  Approach for standardization of off-grid electrification projects , 2009 .

[3]  A Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Products: Environmental Impact Assessment of Biofuels , 2009 .

[4]  R. Heijungs,et al.  Life cycle assessment An operational guide to the ISO standards , 2001 .

[5]  Shabbir H. Gheewala,et al.  Energy and Greenhouse Gas Implications of Biodiesel Production from Jatropha curcas L. , 2006 .

[6]  R. Jongschaap,et al.  Claims and facts on Jatropha curcas L. : global Jatropha curcas evaluation. breeding and propagation programme , 2007 .

[7]  M. Goedkoop,et al.  The Eco-indicator 99, A damage oriented method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment , 1999 .

[8]  Sven Gärtner,et al.  Screening Life Cycle Assessment of Jatropha Biodiesel Final Report , 2007 .

[9]  B. Gabrielle,et al.  Life cycle assessment of biofuels from Jatropha curcas in West Africa: a field study , 2009 .

[10]  Rainer Zah,et al.  SQCB - Sustainability Quick Check Tool for Biofuels , 2009, ITEE.

[11]  Daniel Spreng,et al.  On Measuring Energy Poverty in Indian Households , 2004 .

[12]  Hans-Jürgen Dr. Klüppel,et al.  The Revision of ISO Standards 14040-3 - ISO 14040: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework - ISO 14044: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines , 2005 .

[13]  Jacinto F. Fabiosa,et al.  Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change , 2008, Science.

[14]  L. Verchot,et al.  Jatropha bio-diesel production and use , 2008 .

[15]  S. Polasky,et al.  Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt , 2008, Science.

[16]  W. Hettinga,et al.  GHG performance Jatropha biodiesel. , 2008 .

[17]  K. Openshaw.  A review of Jatropha curcas: an oil plant of unfulfilled promise☆ , 2000 .