Dublin, Ireland
EcoSecurities (LSE:ECO), a leading organization in the business of sourcing, developing and trading carbon credits from greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, has signed an Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA) with PLN, Indonesia's national electricity supplier, to develop and purchase the Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) generated from a large-scale geothermal project and five hydroelectric projects located throughout the country.
The large-scale geothermal power project, located in West Java, will have a capacity of 60 MW and will start commissioning in January 2008. The hydroelectric projects consist of two large hydro plants, Genyem in Papua and Poigar in North Sulawesi, which have a combined capacity of over 50 MW, and three mini-hydroelectric projects with a combined capacity of 4.2 MW, located in West Kalimantan, North Sulawesi and Gorontalo.
Mr. Agus Sari, EcoSecurities Regional Director, Southeast Asia stated: "The development of renewable energy is extremely important in Indonesia. Not only does it provide clean energy to fulfill the national electrical power demand, in addition it provides economic growth and the use of new technologies helps to provide a better living standard for the Indonesian people".
Mr. Alhilal Hamdi, President Commissioner of PT PLN, stated "This ERPA between PLN and EcoSecurities represents one of the biggest transactions by volume completed so far in Indonesia. The potential to reduce greenhouse gases in Indonesia is very large, so wherever possible it is important that industry looks to develop projects under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)".
EcoSecurities will work with PLN throughout the project cycle, by undertaking development of the Project Design Document (PDD), registration of the project with the UN, monitoring and verification of emission reductions, and finally by purchasing the CERs into its carbon credit portfolio. Projected volumes of CERs generated for the six projects in total will be more than 2.6 million CERs up to and until 2012.
Mr. Ario Senoaji, Manager of Renewables, PLN commented: "Renewable energy is an underutilized energy resource in Indonesia. It is recognized that the returns from the development of geothermal and hydroelectric power plants are often uncertain, and the technology is more expensive when compared to fossil fuel powered plants. The additional financial returns derived from the sale of CERs under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) can help to overcome these obstacles and drive adoption of renewable energy alternatives.
Dr. Pedro Moura Costa, COO and President of EcoSecurities, commented, "EcoSecurities is very excited to be working alongside PLN on these projects. It is our intention to demonstrate how carbon finance can be used effectively to drive the development of renewable energy across Indonesia."
Mr. Eddie Widiono, President Director of PLN, commented: "This ERPA provides evidence that PLN, in the running of its electricity business is also environmentally conscious. It is important for our organization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - a key contributor to global warming. In the future it is PLN's intention to develop many power plants to fulfill our national electricity power demand from renewable energy resources, which are much more environmentally friendly. PLN welcomes this agreement with EcoSecurities and other potential CER buyers in order to encourage further development of renewable energy projects, through the additional finance generated from the sale of CERs."
Editor's Notes:
EcoSecurities is one of the world's leading companies in the business of originating, developing and trading carbon credits. EcoSecurities structures and guides greenhouse gas emission reduction projects through the Kyoto Protocol, working with both project developers and buyers of carbon credits.
Working at the forefront of the carbon market development, EcoSecurities has been involved in the development of many of the global carbon market's most important milestones, including developing the world's first CDM project to be registered under the Kyoto Protocol.
EcoSecurities Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM (ticker ECO). Additional information is available at www.ecosecurities.com
About PLN
PLN is Indonesia's state-owned electric utility company and is wholly-owned by the Republic of Indonesia, which is represented by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises. PLN has vision to be acknowledge as a progressive, reliable and reputable world class company that derives its capability from human resources potentials.
PLN owns and controls all public electricity infrastructures in Indonesia, including construction of power plants, power generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales of electricity. PLN is the largest electricity producer in Indonesia, and as of March 31, 2007 had a power generation capacity of 24,867MWand served approximately 36.1 million customers.
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)