01 December 2011
Mexican state to propose bio-jet plant next year

In Mexico, Chiapas state government will propose to build a bio-jet fuel production plant in January 2012.
Should the plans be granted approval, the plant would help Mexican airlines achieve their blending targets for aviation fuel; in 2015 the government wants 1% of renewable jet fuel to be blended with traditional aviation fuel. This will increase to 15% by 2020.
The plant is estimated to cost between $40 and $80 (€30-59 million) to construct, depending on how much fuel it will need to produce to meet demand.
The government could break ground on the facility by mid-2012, with construction expected to take 12 months.
Chiapas is home to the country's sole biodiesel plant, Biodiesel Chiapas, which uses jatropha as feedstock and has production capacity of some 30,000l/d.
The investment required for the plant was split between the Colombian ministry of agriculture and rural development, working through the Colombian corporation of agricultural research (Corpoica), and the Mexican federal government through the tropical agriculture development institute (Ifat).
Chiapas, the state bordering Guatemala, is where jatropha is now grown. Chiapas Gov. Juan Sabines told the newspaper that 12,500 hectares (30,888 acres) of jatropha are now under cultivation and that 7,000 more hectares (17,300 acres) could be easily planted.