Carbon Credits Project Prepared By MWH Becomes Eligible For Emission Reduction Units Under United Nations Framework
Milan — MWH, a global provider of environmental engineering, strategic consulting and construction management services, has helped secure approval from the United Nations for a renewable energy project in Bulgaria to sell carbon credits to the Netherlands under the Kyoto Protocol.
The Vez Svoghe project gained approval for Joint Implementation (JI) registration from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). MWH prepared the Project Design Document (PDD) required by the UNFCCC to approve the Joint Implementation Project. The PDD had to demonstrate the eligibility of the project to the requirements defined by the Kyoto Protocol and to estimate the amount of emissions reduction units that would result from the project compared to a baseline figure.
In addition, MWH performed the monitoring plan, assisting Vez Svoghe during the verification process carried out by an accredited independent entity, and will also assist Vez Svoghe in the monitoring process to certify the real emissions reductions.
Funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the project involves building new small-scale hydro power plants along the River Iskar, about 40 km north of Sophia. The project is expected to provide a renewable energy source of about 150,000 MWh per year with no CO2 emissions, replacing electricity generated from fossil fuel and saving approximately 371,000 tonnes of CO2 from 2008 up to and including 2012. The first hydro power plant has been commissioned and is now fully operational.
The hydro power plants are being built and will be owned and operated by Vez Svoghe, a company that is 90 per cent owned by a subsidiary of Petrolvilla & Bortolotti, an Italian provider of energy and energy-related services, and ten per cent owned by the municipality of Svoghe.
The EBRD will purchase the carbon credits on behalf of the Netherlands through the bank-administered Netherlands Emissions Reduction Co-operation Fund. A first batch of credits is expected to be delivered by the beginning of next year. These will be used by the Netherlands to help comply with its Kyoto Protocol emission reduction commitment. Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Netherlands has agreed to cut its [1990?] greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent [by what date?].
Terry McCallion, EBRD Director for Energy Efficiency & Climate Change, said gaining approval for JI registration was a major achievement for all involved. The proceeds from the sale of the carbon credits would enhance the performance of the project, assist Bulgaria in diversifying its energy sources and support the Netherlands in meeting its Kyoto targets.
Background on Kyoto Protocol
Over a decade ago, many countries joined an international treaty — the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Subsequently, a number of nations approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reducing their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases (GHG), or engaging in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these green house gases.
The Protocol requires 36 industrialised countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy to reduce GHGs by at least 5.2 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.
The Protocol contains so-called flexibility mechanisms that allow parties to implement projects abroad by trading carbon credits. Carbon credits are created when a project reduces or avoids the emission of GHGs when compared to what would have been emitted without its implementation. The Kyoto Protocol has created a market in which companies and governments that reduce GHGs can either use such reductions for compliance or sell the ensuing carbon credits.
The GHG emission reductions are verified by an independent entity to ensure that the emission reductions claimed have actually been realized.
The sources of Kyoto credits are the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) projects. The CDM allows the creation of new carbon credits by developing emission reduction projects in developing countries, while JI allows project-specific credits to be converted from existing credits within the so-called developed countries.
The Netherlands Carbon Fund is fully oriented towards the Joint Implementation (JI) mechanism that allows for cooperation on mitigation activity among developed countries and transition economies.
SOURCE: MWH