A growing number of investors know that one of the keys to success is to have a diversified portfolio so that they can spread risks over a number of different asset classes providing different medium, short and long-term returns and one asset class that is growing in popularity is the alternative Jatropha Biodiesel investment.
Biofuels have been growing in popularity among investors in the past couple of years and many clever investors are capitalising on Biodiesel made with Jatropha yields because of demand driven by the global problem of consuming more crude oil that what is being discovered and therefore the need for alternative sources of renewable energy and especially fuels.
The demand for biofuel is increasing; The Earth Times reported a 20% annual increase projected though out 2011.
Many countries around the world are investing large amounts of funds into the development and production of ‘green oil’ biofuels like Jatropha Biodiesel to try and combat the dependency on crude oil.
The major fuel and energy suppliers like Shell for example are actually implementing new strategies and methods to product biofuel rather than solar and wind for example as Biofuel like Jatropha Biodiesel when farmed correctly can be more financial economical.
There are many environmental advantages to Biofuels over fossil fuels, for a start the fossil fuels and harvesting of them have a negative effect on the planet and as we all know will eventually run out.
Not only are Biofuels like Jatropha renewable and sustainable but Jatropha in particular makes use of land that is not necessary suitable to grow food crops and it also makes use of waste materials like corn stalks for example. Jatropha is less toxic because of it’s biodegradable matter and the extraction procedure to actually product the biofuel is less hazardous and invasive than that of fossil fuels.
Interesting points
- Biofuel has been used commercially since 2008 as 1.8% of the planets transport fuel was Biofuel (UN Environmental Programme “Assessing Biofuels, 2009).
- Airlines have also starting to test and use Biofuels for example Virgin Atlantic did the first flight by a commercial airline powered partly by biofuel back in 2008 and Lufthansa and KLM both aim to offer biofuel flights from 2011.
- Some of the largest economies in the world including South America, Africa and SE Asia have biofuel operations with Jatropha plantations being a major focus. India has allocated some 100 million acres of land for Jatropha production and anticipates the oil produced to supply 20% of its diesel consumption by 2011.
- Goldman Sachs have touted Jatropha as a ‘miracle biofuel’ and stated that it is one of the best candidates for the production of biofuel.
- The Jatropha plant is a shrub bush which is resilient to pest and droughts and as mentioned previously Jatropha can grow on land that is not suitable for food crops. The actual seed has 40% non-edible vegetable oil which is used to produce the biofuel.
The strong commitment should boost private investor confidence in Jatropha Biodiesel investments. By taking advantage of the demand and correctly set up investment packages you can in effect own an ‘oil property’, land which produces a yearly Jatropha yield and in return provide a 20% annual revenue over a 45 year lease period as well as an increasing capital asset value.
You can get involved with one of these biofuel investments from only 15K making it now assessable to many private investors looking to diversify their portfolio and benefit from owning a green asset class generating a long term income.
