The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex B countries) invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries.

• A crucial feature of an approved CDM carbon project is that it has established that the planned reductions would not occur without the additional incentive provided by emission reductions credits, a concept known as "additionality".

The CDM allows net global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced at a much lower global cost by financing emissions reduction projects in developing countries where costs are lower than in industrialized countries. However, in recent years, criticism against the mechanism has increased.

The CDM is supervised by the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) and is under the guidance of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Carbon Offsets

A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases.

One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.

There are two markets for carbon offsets.

• In the larger compliance market, companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit. In 2006, about $5.5 billion of carbon offsets were purchased in the compliance market, representing about 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2e reductions.[2]
• In the much smaller voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. For example, an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel. In 2008, about $705 million of carbon offsets were purchased in the voluntary market, representing about 123.4 million metric tons of CO2e reductions.[3]
  
  Offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short- or long-term.
• The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams.
• Others include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts, destruction of landfill methane, and forestry projects.
• Some of the most popular carbon offset projects from a corporate perspective are energy efficiency and wind turbine projects.[5]
  

Carbon offsetting has gained some appeal and momentum mainly among consumers in western countries who have become aware and concerned about the potentially negative environmental effects of energy-intensive lifestyles and economies.

The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned offsets as a way for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits which can be traded on a marketplace.

The protocol established the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which validates and measures projects to ensure they produce authentic benefits and are genuinely "additional" activities that would not otherwise have been undertaken.

• Organizations that are unable to meet their emissions quota can offset their emissions by buying CDM-approved Certified Emissions Reductions.
  
  Offsets may be cheaper or more convenient alternatives to reducing one's own fossil-fuel consumption. However, some critics object to carbon offsets, and question the benefits of certain types of offsets.
  
  The Rest @ Wikipdedia
  

Micro Inverter News - More, Simpler, Distributed DC- AC Inversion

Enphase Energy Inc. Announces Executive Appointment
05/18/2009

Enphase Energy Inc. announced it has secured $22.5 million in new financing, led by Madrone Capital Partners. This round of funding also includes new investor Bay Partners as well as existing investors Third Point Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners and Applied Ventures, LLC. Jamie McJunkin, General Partner of Madrone Capital Partners will join Enphase Energy's Board of Directors.

Akeena Solar Inc. and Enphase Energy Inc. Announce Strategic Partnership
02/2/2009

Akeena Solar Inc. and Enphase Energy Inc. have announced a strategic partnership to develop and market Andalay solar panel systems with ordinary AC house current output instead of high voltage DC output. Andalay AC panels are expected to cost less to install and provide higher performance than ordinary DC panels. Under the agreement Akeena will purchase a minimum of 5,000 microinverters in each of 2009 and 2010, and Enphase will supply up to 100,000 microinverters to Akeena during this same timeframe. These microinverters will be built into Akeena's award-winning Andalay solar panels.

Enphase Energy Inc. Launches Enphase Energy Micro-Inverter System
06/10/2008

Enphase Energy Inc. announced the general availability of the Enphase Energy Micro-inverter System. The heart of the system, the Enphase Micro-inverter, utilizes advanced technologies to maximize energy harvest and increase reliability of solar systems.

In addition, the Enphase Micro-inverter turns each solar module into a smart module by connecting it to the Internet, thereby providing unprecedented visibility and analysis of solar system performance.

Installers and owners of Enphase Micro-inverter Systems will benefit from dramatically simplified design, installation and management of their solar energy systems. As a result, this new approach can help accelerate the broad adoption of solar technology by increasing the return on investment of residential and commercial solar systems.

The Rest @ Business Week

Cash Instead of Tax Credits for Qualifing Energy Generation Projects

August 2009

U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Energy to make Direct Cash Payments for Businesses Developing Renewable Energy Facilities-

The U.S. government announced Friday that it is now accepting applications for renewable energy funding lead by President Barack Obama’s initiative to expand nationwide sustainability and green energy job prospects. The U.S. Department of Energy, along with the U.S. Department of the Treasury will be allocating direct payments in place of tax credits to companies that establish and develop renewable energy facilities; funding to the sum of roughly $3 billion for approximately 5,000 generation plants producing varying sources of renewable energy.

Secretary Steven Chu states, “This program will play a major role in encouraging private sector capital to invest in clean energy development, creating new jobs that can’t be outsourced. It is an investment that will continue to help our economy grow and ensure advancement in clean and renewable energy development.”

The Recovery Act approves the Treasury to make direct monetary payments to businesses which construct and activate facilities that produce sustainable energy beginning January 1, 2009, which was previously apportioned through tax credits. The Department of the Treasury and Energy anticipate a rush of businesses applying for the cash payment, which will help to support a prompt stimulation in regional economies. “As we move quickly to get our economy back on track and to repair the financial system, we must make investments that lay the foundation for a stronger economic future,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “Too many renewable energy projects have stalled due to a lack of financing.

The Recovery Act program will lead to investment in our long-term energy needs, move us towards energy independence, increase jobs at energy-specific businesses, and protect our environment.”

The Rest @ Green Energy NEws

Renewable Ventures a Fotowatio Company, Gets $200M Solar Funding

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Renewable Ventures, a Fotowatio company, today announced the completion of Solar Fund V to finance more than $200 million of new solar energy projects across the United States.



The fund's first project is a two-megawatt solar photovoltaic project located in Ft. Collins, Colorado that will sell energy to Colorado State University and renewable energy credits to one of the state's utilities, Xcel Energy.


Solar Fund V, the fifth fund organized by Renewable Ventures and the first as Fotowatio's U.S.-based subsidiary, reinforces the company's growth strategy in the United States. The fund will focus on the development and acquisition of commercial, public sector, and utility-scale solar projects from one to 10 megawatts in size.


"With this new infusion of capital, we stand ready to work with businesses, utilities and others to immediately finance, develop, or acquire megawatts of large-scale solar projects in the U.S.," said Renewable Ventures CEO Matt Cheney.


Solar Fund V is structured to include both debt from John Hancock (a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, NYSE: MFC) and equity from Renewable Ventures and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and will enable the construction and permanent financing of around 35 megawatts in the next year. The combination of debt and equity enables the fund to seek a broader range of federal government incentives, improving project economics for prospective customers such as municipalities, universities, electric utilities and companies.


"Wells Fargo's and John Hancock's continued commitment to investing in renewable energy will allow us to replicate the success of our previous relationships," added Mr. Cheney. "Solar Fund V has been designed to use capital and incentives available under the stimulus program in a way that can accelerate the development of more solar projects and quickly create jobs in the U.S. renewable energy sector."


"We are pleased to continue building our relationship through setting up this fund with Renewable Ventures," said Barry Neal, director of Environmental Finance at Wells Fargo. "Wells Fargo's commitment to clean energy and Renewable Ventures' development and operating experience together will help our nation take advantage of clean, renewable energy."


"John Hancock is proud to be working once again with Renewable Ventures, extending our partnership by helping to finance, develop, and deliver clean, renewable energy projects making a difference globally and to the communities we serve," said Jerry Hanrahan, Managing Director, at John Hancock.


The fund's first project, to be located at Colorado State University, will generate enough solar power to provide more than 10% of the electricity needs on the university's Foothills Campus. The 15-acre solar power plant is expected to be one of the largest solar installations at a U.S. university when it is completed in 2009.


Fotowatio is one of the world's largest independent solar producers, and has financed, owns, and operates 130 megawatts of photovoltaic projects in the United States and Europe. The company recently began construction on a five-megawatt solar photovoltaic project in Italy and is developing over 1,000 megawatts of concentrating solar power and solar photovoltaic projects across Spain, Italy and the United States.


Renewable Ventures finances and operates solar projects of all sizes, from one to 50 megawatts and larger. The company's recent projects in the United States include the photovoltaic system at Denver International Airport, the largest solar PV project in North America at Nellis Air Force Base, and installations at Macy's, Roche, University of California-San Francisco, California State University-Fresno, Lowe's, and many others.

• Fotowatio, one of the largest solar power companies in the world, is an independent renewable power producer (IPP) with 130 megawatts of solar projects in operation in the United States and Europe. Fotowatio has more than 1,000 megawatts in development across the United States, Spain and Italy using both PV and CSP technologies. A global company, Fotowatio is owned by GE Energy Financial Services, Landon Group, and Qualitas Venture Capital. Renewable Ventures is Fotowatio's U.S. global business unit with an exclusive focus on the development of commercial and utility-scale solar projects throughout the United States.

For more information, please visit http://www.fotowatio.com/ or http://www.renewableventures.com/
For information about Wells Fargo, please visit http://www.wellsfargo.com/
For information about John Hancock Financial, please visit http://www.johnhancock.com/

The Rest @ PRN Newswire