The Swedish Energy Agency has eleven Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under contract in Southeast Asia. The projects are producing power and/or heat from biogas captured at thre treatment of waste water from cassava starch operations.
Cassava Starch
Cassava is a nutrient-rich root vegetable and a staple food source for over 500 million people. It is the third largest source of calories in the tropics, after rice and maize. Being rich in carbohydrates, the root is also often processed to derivative products, such as starch and ethanol. Cassava starch is used as raw material for in non-food industries, including in the paper, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
The global production of cassava amounts to approximately 280 Mt a year, with Africa leading (56%). In Asia, which accounts for 32% of world production, Thailand and Indonesia are the largest players, harvesting 30 Mt/year and 24 Mt/year respectively. Asian cassava is widely exported. Thailand leads the cassava trade, both in dried cassava and starch. The country is responsible for supplying over 80% of the world’s cassava exports. A growing fraction of these trades go to China, where demand for dried cassava and processed derivate products has grown significantly over recent years.
Due diligence scope
The due diligence covered the following aspects:
- CDM registration and monitoring risks,
- Cassava starch market risks, including assessments of cassava supply fluctuations, demand for cassava starch, water supply and operating cash flow risks.
- Social, economic and environmental risk profile of the cassava starch and water water treatment operations.
Shifting Paradigms was contracted by Climate Focus to lead the due diligence.
Client: Swedish Energy Agency
Partners: Climate Focus, COWI
2015
