Agricultural Waste, China: MILESTONE, Hebei Province

, Operating

Milestone Energy Development (“MED”) is a pioneer and market leader in the green residential heater project development market in China. The Milestone business, being developed across several districts in Hebei Province, China, involves replacing coal burning heaters and stoves in rural households with biomass-fuelled heaters. Biomass gasification heaters were identified as one of the priority areas by the China Agricultural Bureau in May 2007.

The fuel-switch of using biomass in lieu of coal generates CERs, and MED is also involved in the production and sale of biomass briquettes to local households. Two small-scale pilot CDM projects were registered with the UNFCCC in August 2010 and October 2010 respectively. The MED program provides numerous social and economic benefits to China’s rural households, including: (i) abatement of carbon dioxide emissions from the uses of unvented coal heaters in rural households; (ii) reduction of health problems linked to air pollution caused by unvented coal heaters; (iii) decreased costs of winter household heating through the use of relatively cheaper biomass; and (iv) job creation and economic diversification through rural development.

Sindicatum is an equity partner in the MED Joint Venture, and is also acting as a CDM advisor to the business. In June 2011, Sindicatum successfully designed a CDM large-scale methodology, which would allow a large-scale distribution of heaters in rural China. MED and Sindicatum are currently working on a large-scale / Programs of Activities (“PoAs”) commercial roll-out strategy.