The Hindu Business Line : Germany to buy carbon credits from TTD solar kitchen

IT'S not just devotees who are queuing up at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). Also approaching the temple is Germany, though for a completely different purpose.

In its efforts to reduce green house gas (GHG) emission, the German Government is in the process of buying carbon credits from the solar kitchen of TTD. It has identified the TTD kitchen as one of the projects from which it would buy certified carbon reductions (CERs).

"The agreement would be signed within two months," said Ms Pamposh Bhat, Head, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) - India, GTZ (German Technical Corporation).

GTZ has been commissioned by the German Government to identify CDM project in large solar-powered community kitchens in India to offset the carbon dioxide emissions of Renewable Energy Conference 2004 held in Bonn.

Eleven such projects that include community kitchen concepts backed by solar cooking at places such as temples, ashrams, hospitals, technical institutes and colleges are being considered from which CERs could be bought. "We are also identifying community solar cooking projects that serve between 500 to 15,000 people per day," she said.

The solar kitchen has been installed at TTD by Gadhia Solar Energy Systems, a Gujaratbased company, promoted by Dr (Mrs) Shirin Ghadhia and Mr Deepak Ghadia.

When contacted, Dr Shirin Gadhia told Business Line that the solar steam kitchen installed in Tirupati Devasthanam can cook 15,000 meals at a time and can serve 30,000 meals per day (at two cooked meals per day). "The funds from selling carbon credits would accrue to the Tirupati Temple over a period of about 12 years," she said.

The rates per CER (each CER stands for one tonne equivalent of carbon dioxide reduced and can be traded globally) have not been decided as of now, but it is going to be "quite good" since the projects is Gold Standard, according to Ms Bhat.

Gold Standard projects are those which, apart from reducing carbon dioxide emissions also result in community development, poverty alleviation and employment generation, among others. They are sought by buyers seeking "high quality certificates" and translate into less risk for investors.

Meanwhile, a host country approval has been sought for the project from the Environment Ministry in India. After the host country approval, the project would seek registration at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The UNFCCC has designed the CDM to achieve cost-effective GHG mitigation for industrialised countries. The Kyoto Protocol, that came into force on February 16, 2005, makes it obligatory for 37 developed countries to reduce their emissions of six harmful GHGs, including carbon dioxide. They can do this through a combination of direct domestic action and by investing in developing countries that reduce these emission levels.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Infrastructure growth down at 0.5 pc in July

Germany to buy carbon credits from TTD solar kitchen

House panel for greenfield airports in Mumbai, Delhi

$125-m termination fee looms over ONGC-Mittal's re-bid plan

Big names likely in second round of bids for FM radio

Sensex sheds 134 on profit-booking

Alternative to DEPB plagued with technical troubles