Green Energy News | June 11, 2000

June 11, 2000 – Vol.5 No.11

ENERGIES... week of June 11, 2000

TRADING CARBON FOR WIND POWER. In the first ever transatlantic trade of carbon emissions, German power company Hamburgische Electricitats-Werke AG (HEW) will build new wind energy capacity using the proceeds from carbon emission credits sold to TransAlta Corporation of Canada.

In the trade, brokered by Natsource (tm) LLC of New York, TransAlta will purchase 3000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions reduction credits each year from HEW for the next seven years. The net carbon emission reduction is the equivalent of taking 3000 cars off the road.

In carbon emission trading one company can earn credits for carbon that is either not released or is removed from the atmosphere. These credits can be sold to other companies who account for them as net reductions in their total emissions. The credits can be sold at market rates, even at a profit. Should an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as the Kyoto Protocol, come into fruition, credits purchased now could increase in value.

TransAlta has already reduced its net Canadian emissions by more than 3 million tons below 1990 levels - the baseline year for the Protocol. TransAlta unveiled a proposal in March of this year titled Beyond Kyoto which details how, with a combination of technology, renewable power generation, and emissions trading, the company can achieve net zero Canadian greenhouse emissions by 2024.

HEW operates more than four million kilowatt hours of wind power generation in Germany. This trade works well into Germany’s plan to begin phasing out nuclear power in favor of renewables. In that plan the first of twenty nuclear plants could be retired in as little as two years, the last in 19 years. Visit HEW at http://www.hew.de/ (in German), Natsource at http://www.natsource.com/.

EFFICIENT BUILDING IN BRITAIN. Despite Britain’s reputation of having somewhat chilly and drafty buildings, carbon emissions from the energy needed for homes and non-domestic buildings still equals 47 percent of the nation’s total. The UK government would like to change this by changing its national building code.

The UK government plans to reduce energy consumption in new and renovated buildings - and resulting CO2 emissions - by 25 percent. Naturally home and building owners would also save that 25 percent on their energy bills. Among the proposed energy conservation amendments to the Building Regulations would be to:

- Raise the performance standards for building insulation.

- Improve standards for heating and domestic hot water systems.

- Introduce standards for interior and exterior lights and fittings

- Introduce new performance standards for the shading of windows, air conditioning and ventilation systems.

This is a national effort pointing to a potentially large market. Significant opportunities could arise for companies, both in and outside of Britain, with energy efficient products and services to sell. The UK Department of Environment, Transport and Regions has opened a consultation period for the construction industry and other interested parties that will end on September 29, 2000.