Its cogeneration units produce 537 megawatts of electricity annually from sugarcane bagasse--enough to power a small city like Belgaum.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

Now BP will try to continue where Verenium left off, trying to turn sugarcane bagasse, agricultural waste, and wood products into liquid fuels for transportation.

FORBES: BP's Biofuels Play: Plan B or PR?

Industry heavyweights like Cosan (CZZ) are also researching ways to make fuel ethanol friendly for jet fuel, and turn sugarcane bagasse, the leafy waste of the cane stalks after they are crushed into sugar molasses, into second generation ethanol, as well.

FORBES: Brazil's BNDES Bank Offers $1 Billion to Ethanol R&D