The Hindu : Front Page : Carbon credits for Chennai Metrowater

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 03, 2007
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Carbon credits for Chennai Metrowater

K. Lakshmi

AUGMENTING POWER GENERATION: The Metrowater's sewage treatment plant at Koyambedu is one of the four units that convert sludge to biogas for power generation. — PHOTO: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: Chennai Metrowater is set to receive Rs. 4 crore annually from a United Nations body to implement environment-friendly projects.

The financial incentive is for developing renewable energy that offset the use of fossil fuel, a Metrowater official said.

The water agency would be presented `carbon credits' for generating electricity from biogas to operate its sewage treatment plants in the city. The certification of carbon credits is expected in about six months, the official added.

These credits can be used by the water agency to attract foreign investment and technology to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, as envisaged by the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol is an international treaty assigning emission limits to signatory countries.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change based in Bonn, Germany, created the concept of issuing certificates of carbon credits to countries that reduce their emissions.

Metrowater saves about Rs. 4 crore a year by generating sufficient electricity through biogas from sewage sludge in four plants at Koyambedu, Nesapakkam, Kodungaiyur and Perungudi. The project was implemented in 2005, he said.

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