Higher oil prices and increased interest in energy security have stimulated research on bio fuels. In order to achieve sustainability, renewable energy sources must be developed and explored. Bio-diesel derived from micro algae is considered as one such sustainable source. An important step to determine the feasibility of algae bio-fuel is quantifying the potential of commercial scale algal bio-fuel production. A deterministic mathematical model was developed to predict the technical potential of micro-algae bio-fuels in India. The model aims to identify suitable growth locations based on sunlight and local climatic conditions for algal biomass cultivation. The model incorporates realistic limits for light distribution, land use, transmission, photon utilization, photosynthetic efficiencies, and oil content based on literature data. For each scenario of oil fraction and sunlight, the model calculates potential oil yield, biomass produced, and growth rates. This preliminary resource assessment estimates annual algal biomass yield between 159 and 345 metric tons per hectare and 57,000 to 1, 62,000 liters of lipids per hectare based on the solar radiation intensity available in India.