New Delhi: "India needs to tap diversified energy sources to fulfil its requirements, as nuclear power in itself is not sufficient," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said today.

"India would require around 3,00,000 MW of power by 2020 and nuclear would contribute, at best, around 10 per cent in the supply. Nuclear energy by itself is not an answer," he said at the Petrotech conference here.

Biomass, jatropha, gas hydrates and various other sources of energy had to be explored to counter the limitations of each other, he suggested.

While, biomass could only be a short term solution, jatropha needed more research and development work to make it profitable, he said.

"India has over 60 million hectares of wasteland that could be used for jatropha plantation and if one third of it is utilised for the purpose, it would generate 20 million tonnes of bio-diesel every year," he said, adding more research and development was needed to produce genetically modified jatropha seeds with greater oil content.

Sibal said half of the world's energy consumption is taken up by transportation and suggested that electric vehicles could be a profitable alternative if problems of limited range and frequent battery recharge could be solved.

Coal and lignite, available in abundance in India, could also be utilised in fulfilling part of the energy requirement of the country.