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UPDATED with Q&A 13 March – Request for Proposals for field study to provide emissions performance metrics of stove/fuel combinations and fuel consumption during normal usage in homes in Haiti

Background

The Clean Cooking Alliance is launching a four-year clean cooking market development project in Haiti. This project, funded by the Government of Canada, aims to set the foundation for a long-term, sustainable transformation of the clean cooking market that will strengthen and diversify the supply of cleaner and more efficient cookstoves and fuels in Haiti. The ultimate objective of the project is to reduce the negative climate, environment, economic, and health impacts from traditional cooking practices on the Haitian population, with a focus on reducing the disproportionate impacts on women and girls. Although this initial foundation-building project will be executed over four years, the Alliance envisions this to be a ten-year initiative to firmly establish a thriving clean cooking market in Haiti.

The project’s efforts will entail a combination of sector-wide, market development activities, including: capacity-building support for government, stakeholders and clean cooking enterprises; advocacy and technical assistance to develop better policies and regulations; and support for sector coordination. The project will also advocate for the inclusion of women and girls not only in the design of policies, but also across the clean cooking sector, to overcome historical exclusion and increase women’s economic and social empowerment. The project will be led by the Alliance, in close collaboration with the Government of Haiti, local stakeholders, practitioners, the private sector, donors, civil society organizations, and UN agencies.

In order to measure the environment and climate impacts of the project, the Alliance must collect baseline values of the emissions factors of the locally used stove and fuel combinations, such as charcoal, wood, and ethanol, under household conditions as well as fuel consumption. The stoves and fuel combinations studied should include both commonly used traditional and improved options but exclude LPG. Burning solid fuels releases emissions of some of the most important contributors to global climate change: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, black carbon (BC), and other greenhouse gases. Cooking technologies have the potential to impact climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and SLCPs. BC emissions are of particular interest, as residential solid fuel burning produces approximately one-fourth of total anthropogenic BC emissions1. BC is a climate-warming agent and is estimated to be second only to CO2 in its warming impact2. Since the atmospheric lifetime of BC is only a few days, reducing BC emissions can bring about a more rapid climate response than reductions in CO2 and other long-lived greenhouse gases alone3.

Estimating the net warming or cooling impact of particulate emissions from cookstoves can be challenging, in part because particulate emissions also include organic carbon (OC) − which has a cooling impact.1 Therefore, in order to understand the climate implications of fuel/stove combinations in Haiti, obtaining BC/OC ratios of the emissions are also important.

Further, while there is a body of research that catalogues the emission factors of biomass fuels and traditional stoves, this data is almost completely limited to lab data and not reflective of normal household use conditions in Haiti. Similarly, the available household-level data on fuel consumption for Haiti is also outdated and likely not reflective of current usage. To accurately measure the climate impact of this project, research should be conducted to quantify the emissions performance metrics of locally used stove and fuel combinations such as charcoal, wood, and ethanol under household use conditions and characterize household-level fuel consumption in the urban areas in Haiti targeted by the project. The stoves and fuel combinations studied should include both traditional and improved but exclude LPG.

Scope of Work

The Alliance is seeking qualified experts to conduct a field study that will 1) measure baseline emissions performance metrics for a sample of locally used stove and fuel combinations such as charcoal, wood, and ethanol (excluding LPG), during normal usage in homes; and 2) measure household-level fuel consumption. This field study will be conducted in households in the urban areas targeted by the project, including but not limited to greater Port-au-Prince. Note that the Alliance, with a local partner, is conducting a 3,150-household survey to set a baseline for the project overall.

Specific considerations for the study include:

  • The study should provide baseline (in line with the overall project) data on an estimated 11 locally used stove and fuel combinations including 2 types of traditional solid biomass stoves, 8 types of improved charcoal stoves, and 1 ethanol stove. The Alliance will assist in determining the final list of stove/fuel combinations.
  • The study should explicitly provide emission factors (i.e., g/kg or g/MJ) for BC, PM 2.5, CO2, and CO, as well as for any other relevant climate pollutants.
  • The study should provide household-level fuel consumption for each stove/fuel combination. While the methodologies like the Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) are not required, the applicants must clearly lay out how they will be collecting fuel consumption data (i.e. which testing protocol they will use) and justification for said protocol.
  • The study should provide data for all seasons experienced in Haiti in one year to account for seasonal variation in emissions profiles.
  • Characterization of the stove emissions should be conducted during uncontrolled cooking conditions in homes.
  • If possible, the study should provide emission rates (g BC/min) in addition to emission factors.
    • If emission rates are unable to be obtained, please note the reason in the application.
  • To the extent possible, contextual information should be provided on factors which may impact the performance. This includes, but is not limited to: season, fuel type/conditions, and lighting techniques.
  • Sample analysis methods should be justified and described.
  • If possible, comparisons with corresponding laboratory-based measurements may be conducted/compared to determine if systematic relationships can be derived.

Applications are recommended to include both optical and chemical measurements for quantifying light absorbing carbon mass, and test-specific correlations should be used where possible to estimate BC mass based on EC quantification.

Applicants proposing to provide BC concentrations will not be considered responsive.

Experts will be expected to execute the following activities over a 12-month period:

  • Conduct all field studies proposed.
  • Share study data with the Alliance.
    • Work in collaboration with Alliance staff to provide data in a manner that can be integrated into the Clean Cooking Catalog
  • Write a non-technical executive summary (word document) articulating the main findings and key messages of the study that will be published on the Alliance website.
  • Write a full report.

Budget

Applicants should provide a detailed budget and budget justification. Applications will be evaluated based on the quality of the proposal and the appropriateness of the budget for the proposed work.

Proposal Instructions

Please submit a proposal describing the following (maximum of 8 pages, 11-point font, single-spaced):

  • Description of proposed field studies to be conducted, including: project location, stove and fuel technologies (including a number of samples each), and any other relevant information. The final list of stove and fuel technologies will be determined in conjunction with the Alliance. The list should include 2 types of traditional solid biomass stoves, 8 types of improved charcoal stoves, and 1 ethanol stove.
  • Detailed sample collection and analysis methods.
  • Unique qualifications and relevant previous experience of the team.
  • Biographical summaries of the team conducting the work.
  • Budget.
  • Proposed timeline and approach for completing the work.  The timeline should include dates for the activities as outlined above and specific deliverables.

Please submit proposals to haiti@cleancookingalliance.org by Sunday, March 24, 2019. All Grantees must be an Alliance partner. To become a partner, please register on our website.

*Note that indirect cost estimates may not exceed 13%.

**Note that joint-proposals to this RFP and the RFP for studying stove use will be accepted and are encouraged. If applying to both,  the combined application should not exceed 10 pages.

1 Bond TC et al. 2013. Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system: A scientific assessment. J Geophys Res: Atmos. 118:5380-5552

2 Ramanathan V and Carmichael G. 2008. Global and regional climate changes due to black carbon. Nature GeoSci. 1:221-227

3 Bond TC and Sun H. 2005. Can reducing black carbon emissions counteract global warming? Environ Sci Technol. 39:5921-5926.