Could This Ancient Tree Be a Renewable Energy Source?

An ancient tree from India is now thriving in groves where citrus trees once flourished in Florida, and could help provide the nation with renewable energy, the AP reports. As large parts of the Sunshine State's once-famous citrus industry have all but dried up over the past two decades because of two fatal diseases, greening and citrus canker, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel. For years, pongamia has been used for shade trees, producing legumes—little brown beans—that are so bitter wild hogs won't even eat them.

But unlike the orange and grapefruit trees that long occupied these rural Florida groves northwest of West Palm Beach, pongamia trees don't need much attention. Pongamia trees also don't need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don't require teams of workers to pick the beans. A machine simply shakes the tiny beans from the branches when they are ready to harvest. Terviva, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2010 by Naveen Sikka, then uses its patented process to remove the biopesticides that cause the bitter taste, making the beans suitable for food production.

The legume is now being used to produce several products, including Ponova culinary oil and protein, which are featured ingredient in Aloha's Kona protein bars. The company also makes protein flour. The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint, said Ron Edwards, chairman of Terviva's board of directors and a long-time Florida citrus grower. Bees and other pollinators feast on the pongamia's flowers, supporting local biodiversity, Edwards said. An acre of the trees can potentially provide the same amount of oil as four acres of soy beans, he added. (To see what some former citrus farmers have to say about pongamia, read on.)