Description

Biomass technology faced numerous constraints and barriers, for mass adoption, particularly in rural areas of the People’s Republic of China. These barriers included a shortage of credit facilities, weak institutional and technical expertise, inadequate service infrastructure, lack of environmental awareness, and very few incentives. Farmers were facing constraints in obtaining access to credit for the adoption of biomass-based renewable energy systems that could be integrated with existing farming practices. Interest rates in the PRC at that time were set below market rate levels, creating excess demand within which rural investments received low priority. As a consequence, farmers were not able to access longer term loans for rural capital investments with the grace period that would have given them the time required to generate a positive cash flow. The commercial financial institutions and banks were not certain about the viability of biogas systems and did not provide longer term credit to many small farmers.

This report validates the completion report’s assessment of the project which aims to demonstrate the economic viability of sustainable biomass technology for efficient utilization of agricultural waste to generate clean, renewable energy and private sector participation. IED overall assessment: Successful

Contents

• Project Basic Data
• Project Description
• Evaluation of Performance and Ratings
• Other Performance Assessments
• Overall Assessment, Lessons, and Recommendations
• Other considerations and Follow-up