Jatropha (hig?erillo) has been promoted as the biodiesel salvation of both Brazil's northeast, Central America and Haiti, so it's not all that surprising to me to see it promoted in the DR too. It is ideal for poor soils not much good for planting anything else, but it requires about 10 times the amount of acreage to produce B5 biodiesel than does African palm (which has its own trade-offs). Even that acreage requirement assumes ideal conditions, i.e., that 38% by weight of the seed is oil, productivity would be 1.5 metric tons per hectare, successful oil extraction rates of 85%, etc. So it may not be the best source for biodiesel for the DR. As for whether it would be economically viable, that depends on competitive agricultural production costs, certain tax rates, the price of a barrel of oil.... I wonder if anyone has even attempted such calculations yet for the DR as ECLAC has already done for the Central American nations? [Maybe GTZ has, and that's why they're not enthusiastic!]