Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

Congratulations to Project Gaia, which plans to provide ethanol cookstoves to Haiti!

On March 16, Project Gaia received an award at the World Biofuels Markets 2010 Conference in Amsterdam, entitled the Sustainable Biofuels Award, for the theme of “Adoption–for a commercial project, a municipal fleet, or a new user.”  Project Gaia won out over two municipal fleet nominees, the Stockholm Clean Vehicles Program and the San Sebastian municipal Bus Company.

Boma Anga of Clean Fuels Development Company, Abuja, Nigeria, Project Gaia’s private sector partner in Nigeria, and Meghan Sapp, Executive Director of PANGEA, accepted the award on  behalf of Project Gaia.  PANGEA is Partners for Euro-African Green Energy

Harry Stokes, Executive Director of Project Gaia, said, “We will apply the cash prize toward buying CleanCook stoves for Haiti.”

According to David Stillman, “The Public-Private Alliance Foundation and Project Gaia are partners in the effort to introduce and ultimately commercialize the use of ethanol-burning cookstoves in Haiti and elsewhere.  This is especially relevant in the wake of the Haiti earthquake where cooking fuel has become very expensive and the traditional fuel of many, namely wood and charcoal, continues to denude the countryside.  And yet, sugar ethanol can be a successful local product.”

Project Gaia already has pledges of initial donations of cookstoves and ethanol from Brazil and other sources.  Project Gaia, PPAF and others are working to expand beyond the donation phase to create a regular supply of stoves and fuel.

The award will come with a cash prize and publicity and media attention at the conference and post conference until next year.  Information about Project Gaia will be included in the Conference proceedings and on the flash drive distributed to all members containing the conference materials.  The Conference MCs stressed the need for stoves for Haiti and the importance of emergency energy intervention there.

The panel of judges was composed of:

Raffaello Garofalo, Secretary General of EBB,

Rob Vierhout, Secretary General of Ebio, Ausillio Bauen, Director, E4 Tech,

Jonathan Kingsman, CEO, Kingsman,

Kevin McGeeney, CEO, Starsupply Renewables,

Marcos Sawaya Jank, CEO, UNICA,

Graeme Wallace, Director General, EFOA,

Jim Lane, Editor, Biofuels Digest, and

Suzanne Hunt, Principal, Hunt Green LLC.

See also an earlier blog article on ethanol cookstoves: http://ppafoundation.org/blog/2010/haiti-summit-outcomes/

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.

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.