Carbon Offsetting

At Green Leaf our UK servers have been 100% offset using government assured credits. These credits follow the Kyoto Protocol and have been verified by the United Nations or the EU’s emission trading scheme. They are more expensive than other offsets, but we think they are definietley worth it. When it comes to helping the environment second best isn't good enough.

What projects do the offsets support?

The CAMIL Itaqui Biomass Electricity Generation Project

This remarkable project generates clean electricity using discarded risk husks (biomass) which otherwise would have been left to rot and produce methane, one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases. The electricity consumption from the grid is totally displaced by the power plant and the surplus is sold to the grid. The project takes place in Itaqui city, Brazil, and has been up and running since 2001. The amount of CO2e avoided because of this project is estimated to be 57,341 tonnes every year.

The main activity in the region, as with many parts of South America, is rice production and processing and CAMIL is the biggest rice company in Brazil. Rice mills generate huge amounts of biomass residues (mainly rice husks). Brazilian and local state legislation prohibits the unlicensed displacement and/or uncontrolled burning of that rice husks, as well as the land filling of rice husks, allowing displacement in previously licensed areas. As result, huge amount of rice husks were being left to decay.  Before the power plant installation, 81% of rice husks produced were disposed in legal landfills outside the site of CAMIL-Itaqui rice processing plant.  After the project implementation, 70% of total rice husk production is being used for fuel in the boiler, with a surplus of 30% rice husks which are disposed in legal landfills outside the location where the project activity takes place. After October 2005 surplus electricity has been sold to the grid, using 93% of all generated rice husks for project activity. The surplus of 7% rice husks is disposed in legal landfills outside the location where the project activity takes place.

The CAMIL project uses a biomass electricity unit with 4.2 MWe of installed capacity for generating energy from rice husks residues. Currently CAMIL demands a maximum of 3.5 MWe, resulting in 0.7 MWe available for the grid.  The amount of biomass used by third suppliers is nill, so the company does not depend on external sources of biomass to maintain the power plant in a fully operational state.

Contribution of Camil Itaqui to sustainable development

The project is promoting sustainable development to the host country, providing:

• Increased employment in the area where the plant is located;

• Diversification in the sources of electricity generation;

• Use of clean and efficient technologies, and conserving natural resource to meet Agenda 21 and the Sustainable Development Criteria of Brazil;

• Actions as a clean technology demonstration project, encouraging development of modern and more efficient generation of electricity and thermal energy using biomass fuel throughout the country;

• Optimisation in the use of natural resources, avoid new uncontrolled waste disposal places, using a large amount of rice residues from region.

Full list of all our grid-connected, sustainable carbon reduction projects

• Braço Norte III Small Hydro Plant CDM Project
(Project 0667, located in Brazil, registered 25 June 2006)

• Camil Itaqui Biomass Electricity Generation Project
(Project 0231, located in Brazil, registered 11 February 2006)

• San Jacinto Tizate geothermal project
(Project 0198,located in Nicaragua, registered 8 April 2006)

• San Carlos Bagasse Cogeneration Project (SCBCP)
(Project 0210, located in Ecuador, registered 06 March 2006)

For detailed information visit the UNFCCC website