Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

by Bob Worth and David Stillman

Biofuels Digest recently conducted a survey on the “food versus fuel” debate, specifically on the question of the “morality” of different sources of biofuel, ranging from corn to marine-based feedstocks. Respondents were self-selected, mostly US-based and largely made up of Digest readers, but gave wide-ranging comments.  As stated by the Digest “The public says “depends on the feedstock,” but generally more moral than converting land for oil & gas or housing.”  Highlights of survey results are given below, and more fully at   http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/04/06/food-vs-fuel-are-biofuels-moral-or-immoral/

Recent efforts by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are also noteworthy for emphasizing the benefits to small-scale farmers in developing countries in growing both food and biofuel feedstock. Called ‘integrated food-energy systems,’ FAO finds that small-scale, local biofuel production brings economic and environmental advantages. As stated, “Integrating and intensifying food and energy production has the potential to improve food and energy security in rural villages and the national level as well.”  www.fao.org/bioenergy/67564/en/

The Biofuels Digest survey found broad support for well-managed biofuels. The first question was key – “Is it moral, or immoral, to use a (human) food crop at any time to make energy or fuel? Examples could include anything from an ethanol cook stove, a home-based corn pellet stove, up to industrial-scale production.”  The results were — Moral 62%, Immoral 16%, Other 21%, No response 1%.  Comments were welcomed, and PPAF gave a detailed one.

Respondents were most comfortable with producing biofuels from waste oils and municipal and agricultural waste, and from idle land not suitable for growing crops.  The survey found much less support for using land previously allocated for conservation, for using trees rather than crops, or for using farmland for shopping centers. 

Obviously this is a topic of great interest to the Public-Private Alliance Foundation, as we work to encourage adoption of cookstoves fueled by sugar- and sorghum-based ethanol as an alternative to Haiti’s heavy reliance on wood and charcoal, and the consequent health, economic, and environmental problems. At the same time, popular questions do arise, and need to be answered.

Creating a locally-based, sustainable ethanol industry and spreading the adoption of ethanol-burning cookstoves should be especially valuable to people in Haiti. Food versus fuel criticisms can be addressed, and as shown in the FAO program, a local ethanol industry could bring significant benefits, help reduce Haiti’s massive deforestation and help overcome poverty.

PPAF is a member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves http://cleancookstoves.org/ and is a partner with SIMACT (Societe Immobiliere d’Agriculture, de Commerce, et de Tourisme) http://www.simact.net/ , Project Gaia http://www.projectgaia.com/ , and other organizations to promote ethanol cookstoves in Haiti.

From November 29 to December 1 David Stillman and Fritz Clairvil of SImACT, Inc. attended the “Clean Indoor Air Cookstove and Alcohol Fuel Production International Forum” organized by the International Institute for Ecological Agriculture (IIEA) and Project Gaia, and held in Atlanta, Georgia.  (The terms alcohol and ethanol are interchangeable.)

In Haiti, PPAF, SImACT, Project Gaia and their partners continue to develop the clean cookstoves project.  The meetings with IIEA and the Alcohol Fuel Production International Forum helped move this forward..

David Blume, founder of IIEA (www.permaculture.com) and Blume Distillation, LLC (www.blumedistillation.com), ran the seminar in two days of lectures plus Q&A. Harry Stokes of Project Gaia made a presentation and stove demonstration of the Dometic CleanCook stove.

David Blume’s career spans over 30 years as an advocate, writer and public speaker on ecology, especially the subjects of alcohol fuel and related integrated farming.  Based in California, he has devoted much attention to actions for substitution of gasoline and other petroleum products in the USA, has served as a consultant in several other countries, and is familiar with development issues generally.  

The sessions focused on the benefits of localized production and use of appropriate-scale alcohol fuel combined with “clean fuel” stoves and appliances.  Alcohol fuels offer an abundant supply of energy for cooking, heating, refrigeration; electricity and transportation needs and can be produced from a wide variety of native plants, waste products and cultivated fuel crops ensuring inexpensive and sustainable production. 

A presentation on Blume Distillation, LLC was a key element of the seminar.  This new company will specialize in micro-distilleries from sugar and other feedstocks to produce ethyl alcohol in the USA and abroad.  Blume and his company are now seeking investors to cover an estimated $3.2 million, and purchasers.  Company representatives will visit New York in January to this end.

Cookstoves for displaced Haitians, ethanol to run these, biodiesel for electrical generators and fuel, and construction of transitional housing were among Public-Private Alliance Foundation interests discussed during the HAITI – Resources for Reconstruction & Humanitarian Assistance Summit, held on March 9 and 10 in Miami. 

Displaced Haitians Set Up Encampment at Port-au-Prince Golf Course

UN Photo

Dr. David Stillman, PPAF Executive Director, spoke at the panel on Economic Recovery and Reconstruction and hosted afternoon roundtable sessions.   Conference participants signed up to meet with speakers, to discuss business or support related to reconstruction priorities.

PPAF’s interest in renewable energy grows out of its work since 2008.  Several project possibilities that respond to the Haiti crisis are being developed, notably:

• Partnering with Project Gaia to make cookstoves that run on ethanol broadly available. 
• Partnering with businesses in Haiti to produce sufficient ethanol for cookstoves.
• Creating a production model that will result in sustainable commercialization of cookstoves and ethanol, on the local Haitian market.

PPAF seeks financial and technical support for these projects, from interested governments, business and financial houses, individual donors, major foundations and UN agencies. 

Regine Barjon, Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, holding stove, with Brady Anne Luceno and Harry Stokes of Project Gaia, talking with Maureen Taft-Morales (l), Congressional Research Service

This effort potentially meets several needs:  (a) cooking and the fuel to do it, (b) rebuilding small business capabilities, and (c) helping protect Haiti’s fragile environment, where many have relied on wood and charcoal for cooking.

Brady Lucerno, David Stillman & Harry Stokes, showing the cookstove and the ethanol canister

The Summit was organized by Global Investment Summits and the IPOA (International Peace Operations Association). The event stressed the pivotal role the private sector will play in long-term reconstruction in Haiti.  Its aim was to enable participants to begin addressing the efforts required to reconstruct Haitian infrastructure and rehabilitate the country’s economy and society.  The summit aimed to contribute to work in the fields of logistics, transport and communications, infrastructure, housing, security and stability, and medical and nutritional aid.

At the Summit, Stillman discussed with the organizers and with the leadership of SImACT, a Haiti Diaspora investment group, the possibility of convening a workshop on investment and commerce in Southern Haiti, to be held in Jacmel.

The President of the National Energy Commission (CNE), Lic. Enrique Ramirez, personally approved the final report of the Third Bioenergy International Debate (October 7 – 9), which was organized and facilitated by the public sector NGO, the Public-Private Alliance Foundation (PPAF) and the private sector market research company, ResearchPAYS, Inc.  The report is available in Spanish and English.  

CNE President Enrique Ramirez Addresses Forum

Dr. David Stillman and Tom Kadala, MBA, leaders of this recently-formed public-private partnership, traveled to Santo Domingo to discuss the report and to work with the CNE and others to prepare for the upcoming Fourth Bioenergy International Debate, scheduled for December 3-4, 2009.    Along with Ambassador Federico Cuello and Rafael Fernandez, CEO of RJS Group, Stillman and Kadala took part in Sabado Agropecurio, a Dominican agricultural television journal, on November 21.  The interviewer was Manuel González Tejera.

L. to R: Seated: R. Fernandez, Amb. F. Cuello, M. Gonzalez Tejera; Standing, D. Stillman, T. Kadala

The partners also attended the 14th Regional Forum on Biofuels and Other Renewable Energies (XIV Foro Regional “Biocombustibles y Otras Energías Renovables), which took place from 18 – 20 November.  About 350 people from the region attended.  The forum featured national and technological updates on renewable energy in the region. It was organized by the Central American Integration System and its Alliance on Energy and the Environment in Central America.   The region includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama; the Dominican Republic is an associate member.  See:  http://www.sica.int/ .  The governments of Austria, Finland and the European Commission supported the forum.

Forum participants also toured Fluitecnik Solar Republica Dominicana, which produces solar panels that are part of the national grid, and LineaClave Internacional, S.A., which produces and develops a retail market for natural gas.

Ing. Carlos Lubrano, D. Stillman and T. Kadala at LineaClave

From October 7 through 9 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Public-Private Alliance Foundation (PPAF) and ResearchPAYS, Inc., organized the Third International Debate on Bioenergy – Risk Management and Business Model Innovation.  Hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Energy Commission (CNE), the event brought together leaders from the government, business, financial, non-profit and academic sectors as well as from the United Nations.  The program included a reception, a debate, case study presentations and a field trip.   Earlier events in the series were held at the United Nations in New York in May and June 2009.

Some 65 mostly Dominican participants engaged in discussions aimed to achieve investment and commercial opportunities resulting from consultations among interested parties.   The meeting’s report is expected to serve as a contribution of the Government of the Dominican Republic to the UN General Assembly and the December 2009 Climate Conference in Copenhagen.

Mr. Enrique Ramirez, CNE President, opened the session.  He emphasized that bioenergy is vital to the future of the Dominican Republic and is a priority for President Fernandez.  He said that events such as this were important in bringing together stakeholders to work together to develop solutions to the energy issues facing the country. 

Ambassador Federico Cuello, Permanent Representative of the D.R. to the United Nations, remarked that the country had great opportunities and capabilities and could play a constructive role in promoting biofuels internationally. 

Dr. David Stilman, Executive Director of PPAF, addressed the relation of development of bioenergy to achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals and provided background  on international standards for sustainable development and their relation to bioenergy.

Mr. Tom Kadala, President of ResearchPAYS, Inc., facilitated the discussions in a lively and interactive maner, bringing out differing perspectives and points of agreement regarding the current situation and potential steps for the future.

Congressman Pelegrin Castillo, the father of the D.R.’s renewable energy law (Law 57-07), was an active participant.   Others included representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, Banco de Brasil,  Fondacao Getulio Vargas, AES Dominicana and a number of  Dominican and international companies.

Ambassador Joao Solano Carneiro de Cunha, Brazilian Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, highlighted the experience his country in biofuels and said that creating a domestic demand for ethanol was extremely important.

Case studies presenters included Jean-Claude Alten, President of Fenix Bioenergy, LLC, who spoke on plans for a project to use Arundo Donax (giant cane) as pellets to replace coal for electricity production.   Rafael J. Zapata, President of RJ Zapata & Associates, spoke on plans for converting municipal waste of Santo Domingo to energy.  Tom Kadala described the potential for production of zero carbon footprint ammonia.  The presentations generated much interest and encouragement.

In addition to investment prospects, participants embraced the idea that the Dominican Republic could be a viable testing ground for new ideas, new technologies, and global innovation in the area of renewable energies. 

Sponsors of the event included the UN Office for Partnerships, Grupo Vicini, the Center for Export and Investment of the D.R., and the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization (IREO) in addition to the hosts and organizers.  Ing. Diogenes Reyna, Director of International Relations and Events, coordinated the program on behalf of the CNE.

Following the conference, Ambassador Cuello, Dr. Stillman and Mr. Kadala appeared on the Sabado Agropecuario television show to discuss outcomes, achievements and plans for the future.

For more information, see: www.ppafoundation.org (events page).  See also videos from the program:   9 minute overview: Bioenergy Debate in the D.R. and Bioenergy Debate in the D.R. – Opening Remarks by David Stillman.

Also see PPAF’s Flickr photos from the event:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppaf

Christiana Sciaudone of Recharge News recently wrote a story featuring the Public-Private Alliance and their efforts to facilitate public-private investment in ethanol that was published on June 26, 2009.

The full article, Dominican Republic ripe for sugar-cane ethanol financing, can be found below:

With many of its sugar-cane fields lying fallow, the Dominican Republic is ideal for ethanol investment, and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has launched a major initiative to make sure that happens.

The New York-based Public-Private Alliance Foundation (PPAF) is seeking ways to finance ethanol deals, It aims to “reach business deals in ethanol and related biofuels”, says David Stillman, PPAF executive director, PPAF says it has received calls from groups in places as diverse as Hong Kong and New Jersey that are interested in participating.

Sugar is currently grown in the Dominican Republic, but ethanol is not produced because Stillman says it considered that “the market was not right”. However, steps have been taken to improve market prospects, including a law that promotes renewable energy with favourable taxation and import-structure regulations.

PPAF held a major meeting last month, bringing together government, business, NGO and academic representatives,

Grupo Vicini, which has been growing and milling sugar cane in the Dominican Republic since the 19th Century, is participating in the PPAF discussions, and is analysing the potential of producing ethanol and co-generating electricity.

‘We are still going over the numbers,” explains Marino Incháustegui, industry and energy director at Vicini. The analysis should he done within the next four months.

He adds that while ethanol investments will be judged by the bottom line, “if the bottom line is there, we will be there”.

The export potential for the Dominican Republic is also promising, as it is not limited by trade barriers like those in Brazil, where the US imposes a $0.54 per gallon tax. Brazil is being consulted, due to its years of ethanol-production experience, and it is hoped Brazilian development bank BNDES will be interested in financing local production.

However, one possible problem specific to the Dominican Republic is that most of the cane-cutters are Haitian immigrants. There are long-standing issues regarding both illegal immigration in the country and their working conditions, which must be tackled if plans go ahead.

The article is available for download in PDF, Microsoft Word .DOC, and JPG.

Bill Miller, host and producer of Global Connections Television, interviewed Aristides Fernández-Zucco, Minister of State and President, Dominican Republic National Energy Commission. They discussed the bio-energy strategy of the D.R. and Law 57-07, and development of bio-fuel production on the Haiti-Dominican border.