B&P Investments

In a significant development in November 2020, B&P Investment partnered with Green Development AS, a Norwegian entity that has registered a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Programme of Activity, to create carbon credits from projects based in Malawi.

Through discounted clean ethanol cook stoves, financed by carbon credits, B&P Investment hopes to distribute, at cost price and with funding from the Green Economic Transition Facility (GETF), more than 10,000 highly efficient and approved ethanol cooking stoves called ‘Blue Flame’ to urban households in the cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe to help reduce the consumption of illegally and unsustainably produced charcoal in these urban areas.

Available statistics estimate that about 216,773 households in Blantyre and Lilongwe depend on wood and charcoal for their cooking needs. The unsustainable practices associated with these fuels have led to significant deforestation, forest degradation, and various environmental challenges, including rising siltation levels and a decline in electricity generation.

B&P Investment is committed to supporting efforts aimed at reducing deforestation by distributing its highly efficient stoves to 53,821 urban households in targeted areas, where residents have the financial capacity to purchase and use them.

By distributing ethanol cook stoves and creating a solid distribution network that can bring the ethanol stoves and ethanol fuel to the targeted areas, the project will address the challenge of limited access to sustainable energy sources.

The two targeted cities have predictable supplies of ethanol fuels due to the increased production of ethanol in Malawi and prices are competitive compared to other LPG fuels that are imported, and their supply can be unpredictable at times. This makes ethanol cook stoves the most reliable clean cooking mechanism for households in these two cities.

The main commercial impact of this project will be the creation of a new market for ethanol fuel. As the distribution network expands, more people will be able to access ethanol fuel for their cooking needs. This will lead to increased demand for ethanol and the development of more efficient production processes.

The development of a distribution network will also create new business opportunities for local entrepreneurs, who will act as distributors or retailers.

The main development impact of this project is the promotion of sustainable development in the area. By providing access to a sustainable energy source, the project will reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuels that contribute to environmental degradation and health problems.

The Blue Flame ethanol cookers are safe to use, clean burning and durable; they perform 12 times better than kerosene stoves and six times better than charcoal stoves, hence the need to be adopted more broadly.

The unique burning technology of these stoves produces negligible soot or particles and has been tested by the Sustainable Energy Technology and Research Centre of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, with very satisfactory results showing a combination of high performance and low emissions, meeting the (TIER 5) definition of efficient and clean as stipulated by the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA).