The Charcoal Project » Stoves

Now it gets interesting: Indian Govt & X Prize announced global competition for best clean-burning cookstove!

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:42:42 +0000

X PRIZE, Govt. of India, and the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) Announce Partnership to Create Global Competition to Develop Clean-Burning Cookstove.

Initiative would combat the serious problem of indoor air pollution, which kills more than one million people each year

Why the market alone cannot solve the clean cookstove gap

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:08:29 +0000

Can it be that the emphasis on finding market-based solutions to energy poverty alleviation and the large-scale deployment of improved cookstoves is just not practical? "Probably," say a group of researchers investigating the pressures placed on grass-roots NGOs to adopt market-based approaches to solving household energy and health issues in the developing world.

The rocket stove’s rocket stove

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:28:49 +0000

StoveTec’s rocket stoves come in different shapes and sizes but their main product line will completely incinerate wood and charcoal. This means the stove can average a 40 - 50 percent reduction in fuel consumption and 50 - 75 percent in emissions reduction.

Peace Corps launches site providing resources for improved cookstoves and ovens

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:20:20 +0000

This post comes to us via the good people at the IAP (Indoor Air Pollution Updates). We thought it might be of interest to our visitors as a resource.

Peace Corps – Improved Stoves and Ovens - Welcome to the Peace Corps Clean Indoor Air/ Improved Cooking Toolkit, your one-stop source for reliable and relevant information about improved cookstoves, ovens and biogas applications appropriate for Volunteer communities.

KENYA: Energy saving stoves to save forest cover

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:09:24 +0000

The Government of Kenya launches large-scale program to deploy energy efficient stoves. The project, named Promotion of Private Sector Development in Agriculture (PSDA), is designed to disseminate energy saving technologies, geared to improve rural livelihoods.

So, you wanna deploy cookstoves to every corner of the world? McKinsey & Co. has one word for you: networks

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:33:31 +0000

In a meeting this week with the folks from Acumen Fund, we were asked what was holding up the large-scale deployment of improved cookstove worldwide?

The truth is there is no simple answer. Take your pick: low levels of capital investments, tariff barriers, lack of incentive policies, fluctuation price of oil, poor social marketing, instability in the carbon credit market, absence of standards, etc.

Looking for solutions, the folks at McKinsey and Co. think stakeholders would do well to focus on networking and sharing resources.

Listen to the Harvard Business Review and they'll tell you the US needs to spend more time investing in social entrepreneurs in the developing world and less playing the role of incubator.

A Great Stove with A Killer App

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:52:30 +0000

If only we could figure out a way to combine the allure of sexy technology with the utilitarian nature of energy-efficient cookstoves. (And did I also mention reducing emissions and fuel consumption?)

Well, guess what, folks, this may have finally happened!

To achieve cookstove scale we need standards

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 03:57:06 +0000

What’s more important: reducing fuel consumption or reducing emissions of black carbon and other toxic gases?

The answer is, of course, both, but designing a stove that meets the highest current ratings in emissions reduction and energy consumption at a reasonable cost has so far proven elusive.

Coming up with the right standards will be critical to getting cookstove projects to scale, especially since carbon-credit financing will be vital for some projects to make financial sense, says Dean Still of the Aprovecho Research Center.

The Darfur Stoves Project: A Market Solution to Poverty

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Today, three billion people—nearly half the world’s population—burn coal, wood, dung, or compost to heat their homes and cook their food. In addition to the deforestation associated with open fire cooking, especially in regions of conflict, the need for fuel often leaves searchers vulnerable, exposing them to risk of attack.

Yo, IPCC & CC movement! (cough, cough) Here’s an easy win: Black Carbon (wheeze, wheeze)

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:15:31 +0000

The IPCC and the climate change movement are missing the boat on a crucial fix.

Why black carbon abatement is not one of the central topics of discussion by the climate change movement is a mystery to me given the findings in this report.