Megawatt: British Columbia Renewable Energy Law Blog : BC Renewable Energy Blog : Clark Wilson Law Firm : Green Power, Natural Energy

The Pacific Carbon Trust has made its first delivery of carbon offsets to the B.C. government. The transaction, which consisted of 34,370 tonnes of emission offsets, represents an important landmark in the development of the Trust.

The Trust was created in 2008 as a B.C. crown corporation to facilitate the carbon offset aspect of the government’s environment policy. In particular, the Trust has a mandate to deliver offsets to Provincial Government ministries, all of which will be required to offset their carbon emission by 2010 under the Greenhouse Gas Reductions Targets Act. To date, the Trust has acquired offsets from 15 facilities in B.C. and aims to purchase over 700,000 tonnes of carbon offsets per year by 2011.

In a recent press release, Minister of State for Climate Action John Yap said he felt the Trust has been a success story so far and is helping to deliver on the government’s green economy initiative. Mr. Yap has reason to be excited about the Trust’s accomplishments given that it is delivering carbon offsets in only its first year of operations.

The wider impact of the Trust on B.C.’s green economy is also evident in the success of private offset businesses such as Offsetters. The Trust has purchased over 300,000 carbon offsets from the offset provider to be delivered over 5 years. The Trust also recently entered into an offset contract with Sempa Power Systems. Sempa has created a successful enterprise installing energy efficient hybrid heating systems in hotels and other buildings.

To date, the Pacific Carbon Trust has been an example of the Provincial Government’s ability to stimulate B.C.’s green economy through innovative projects and legislation designed to encourage private initiative. Megawatt will keep you posted on further developments for the Trust and the world of carbon offsets.

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In a previous post, I discussed the concept of carbon offsets and looked at the Pacific Carbon Trust in particular. The Trust is a new B.C. crown corporation that provides carbon emission offsets to businesses and government ministries. This week, the Megawatt spotlight is on Offsetters Clean Technology Inc. Offsetters is a B.C. based company and one of Canada’s leading offset providers. Notably, Offsetters was recently named the Official Carbon Offset Provider of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Offsetters was founded in 2005 by two professors at the University of British Columbia. The company has created numerous carbon offset projects to date, many of which increased the energy efficiency of existing businesses and encouraged the introduction of more efficient energy systems. For example, one offset project was based on the use of a new biomass boiler to heat greenhouses, while another project involved the purchase of a ground-source heat pump system for an extended care facility. Offsetters states that these projects would not have been possible without funds from carbon offset purchasers.

One reason Offsetters focuses on energy efficiency projects, rather than forestry based carbon offsets, is that it claims the carbon reductions from energy efficiency undertakings are more easily verifiable. In particular, a representative from the company suggested that carbon offsets based on tree planting may be less successful because when the trees eventually decompose, they release stored carbon back into the atmosphere. Offsetters insures that all carbon emission reductions from its projects are independently verified by a qualified engineering firm.

In addition to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Offsetters has already assembled an impressive list of clients. These include Vancity Capital, Bunting Coady Architects and Avison Young Real Estate Solutions, to name just a few. Offsetters also partners with West Jet and Air France to provide free carbon offsets to airline passengers. Patrons of either company may elect to have the carbon emissions from their flight offset by the airline at no cost to themselves.

Megawatt will keep you posted on new developments in the world of carbon offsets and other climate change solutions.

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