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Friends,<br>
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On 12/21/2010 4:35 AM, Randy Mott wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:004201cba10b$9b759e40$d260dac0$@ceeres.eu"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">You cannot simply use the methane destroyed to derive credits. You have to demonstrate that the methane destroyed would have otherwise gone into the atmosphere. So a 1 MW biogas plant that actually destroys 116,000 tons of CO2 equivalents a year, will typically receive only about 20-40,000 tons of actual credit. There are elaborate formulas for this calculation .....
See <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/index.html">http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/index.html</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
To add to what Randy said, of course we all realize that carbon
credits are a very unusual currency, because they are based on what
is specifically not there. That is, one gains credit for CO2
equivalents that are <i>not</i> produced. Thus the question becomes
"How does one demonstrate that what has been done has resulted in a
reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions?" <br>
<br>
Ordinarily, then, the process is first to document the current
situation at some depth in specified ways. For example, one might
demonstrate that a certain amount of firewood and kerosene is being
used on a per capita basis through a given region for cooking and
lighting. Then one would need to demonstrate that some portion or
all of the firewood is "non-renewable biomass", NRB. (That is, for
example, the forests from which it comes are for the most part not
replanted nor do they regrow naturally, so the CO2 released when the
wood is burned is not being recaptured locally/regionally in new
forest biomass.) Assume, for example, that half the firewood is NRB.
In that case, half the CO2 released from burning wood for cooking
can be counted as emissions, and of course all the CO2 from the
kerosene.<br>
<br>
Then one postulates or provides a given number of biogas digesters
to those in the area of interest. Again using specified methods, one
would need to demonstrate that people have certain numbers of
animals of certain kinds, and thus taking into account the regional
climate and similar factors, each digester can be expected to
produce a certain amount of biogas, which will then in turn replace
a certain amount of firewood and kerosene for cooking and lighting.
Based on those surveys, methods, measures and calculations, one
makes an assertion about the amount of emissions avoided. To that
figure, depending, one might also add (as Randy indicated) methane
emissions avoided because an assumed (demonstrated) amount of dung
or kitchen waste or what-have-you is not going anaerobic "in the
wild".<br>
<br>
There is, likewise, considerable concern in the international
community about what is called "additionality". That means that
where, say, the credits are from the <a
href="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/12/credit-where-credit-is-due-understanding-the-clean-development-mechanism">Clean
Development Mechanism</a> (which apparently will continue beyond
2012, based on what happened in Cancun), the UNFCCC wants to make
sure that whatever is being proposed to be done to reduce emissions
could not otherwise be done without the credits. To say it another
way, where a project is self-sustaining regardless, it cannot
qualify for credits.<br>
<br>
The processes established for producing credits are detailed,
rigorous and complex because the agency or organization must
maintain credibility. The only source of the value which the credits
may maintain derives from trust. If that trust is corroded, the
associated value is corroded. And second, the processes used may, to
some, appear bureaucratic, but here likewise there is good reason,
which is that everyone must be treated the same way, and so everyone
must follow the same process, even if that process is not well
suited to the needs or ideas of some applicants.<br>
<br>
There are, as well, many different kinds of credits: UNFCCC provides
one kind, called a compliance credit, because it is produced under
international agreements supported by regulations in the country of
interest. There are also voluntary credits, perhaps the best of
which is the <a href="http://www.cdmgoldstandard.org/">Gold
Standard</a>. (In fact, one can apply for both CDM and Gold
Standard, although this will not result in having duplicated
credits, although it will result in having credits that are seen in
some contexts as being more valuable.)<br>
<br>
Finally, it would not make sense to apply for carbon credits on the
basis of one household digester. Like any similar process, the
process of applying for carbon credits has fixed and variable costs,
and the fixed costs of applying for carbon credits are substantial
enough that it would make little sense for a project developer to
apply for them where only a few credits will result. There are,
likewise, minimums that apply within the agencies and organizations
that tender the credits.<br>
<br>
Thus a single very (very) large digester may qualify, but when
dealing with digesters as small as household digesters, it will
usually only make sense to apply for credits if there are going to
be a large number of them. Carbon credits for biogas are a strategy
useful where a fairly large effort is being made, implying
significant funding, a sufficiently-sized organization on the ground
and so on.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
d.<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<div style="" ;=""><span style="font-size: 110%;">David William
House<br>
</span>
<div style="padding-left: 3em; font-size: 80%;">"The Complete
Biogas Handbook" <code><a href="www.completebiogas.com">www.completebiogas.com</a></code><br>
<em>Vahid Biogas</em>, an alternative energy consultancy <code><a
href="www.vahidbiogas.com">www.vahidbiogas.com</a><br>
<br>
</code></div>
<div style="padding-left: 2em;">"Make no search for water.
But find thirst,<br>
And water from the very ground will burst."
<div style="padding-left: 2em; font-size: 80%;">(Rumi, a
Persian mystic poet, quoted in <em>Delight of Hearts</em>,
p. 77) <br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://bahai.us/">http://bahai.us/</a></div>
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