Renewable Energy
Wind
Solar PV
Solar cookers
Household biogas
Waste biomass to energy
Run-of-river hydro-electricity
Renewable energy projects replace energy sourced from fossil fuels or unsustainably extracted forest biomass
They replace heating fuels (solar cookers, household biogas) or generate electricity (solar PV, wind, hydro, biomass to energy)
The emissions avoided are credited and can be used as a carbon offset
When you buy a renewable energy carbon offset, you are buying these avoided emissions
These projects reduce a country’s reliance on energy from fossil fuels, which are often imported at great expense
Offsets help support the renewable energy industry’s development in countries where there are barriers to its uptake and helps increase its penetration into local electricity markets
An electricity project brings or improves electricity supply to poor communities; a heating fuel project improves indoor air quality and health
A renewable energy project located near a poor village will often lead to infrastructure improvements (roads, bridges, schools, medical facilities), local employment and increased economic opportunities
Access to Electricity
Over 750 million people have no access to electricity today, now
Each day, none of them have access for more than 4 hours
In that time, they use it to provide rudimentary lighting, power for a radio or to charge a phone
3/4 of a billion people, each using about 22 kWh per year
Compare that to how much you use in a day
Where are the best places to install new renewable energy projects to maximise the benefits?
places where the extra electricity supply has the greatest impact on people’s lives
Imagine the impact when electricity becomes available to those people who have no or poor access to it
Without carbon finance, these projects would not be viable
Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2020) – “Energy”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/energy’ [Online Resource]
Renewable Energy Technologies - Renewable Heat
Household Biogas
Households are provided with a biodigester, typically a fixed dome tank
The biodigester replaces the coal fired stoves that are used by rural households
Organic matter including manure and other wastes are decayed anaerobically (without oxygen)
This biological digestion produces methane which is then used for cooking
The recovery and use of the biogas reduces methane emissions from poor manure management practices
Replaces coal and other solid fuels (firewood, charcoal, dung, straw) for cooking and heating
Reduces expenditure on coal and other fuels, freeing up money for other uses
Increases employment for local people (construction and servicing of biodigesters)
Improves the living and cooking conditions for the household
Decreases indoor air pollution and helps improve the household’s health
Popularizes practical, appropriately-scaled energy technology
Solar Cookers
The solar cooker uses parabolic reflectors to gather sunlight for cooking
Generally composed of cooker body, pot rack, cooker rack and a tracking and adjusting mechanism
In the projects sold by Beyond Neutral, most of the rural households in the area use coal-fired stoves for water boiling and cooking
Solar cookers enable these rural households to partly and efficiently substitute solar energy for coal use
No construction is required to use the solar cookers
Able to be produced domestically within the country
The lifetime of a solar cooker is at least 10 years
Consume less coal, spend less on fuel and lower fire risk from coal-fired stoves
Create no smoke so improve indoor air quality
Local jobs and training are created, people educated about solar energy technology
Renewable Energy Technologies - Renewable Electricity
Solar PV
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) projects vary in size with some projects using over 1,000,000 solar PV modules
These projects help reduce the gap between supply and demand that exists in many countries
They help improve electricity quality and the grid’s reliability, which helps support economic activity in an area
By installing a solar PV project, a country reduces its reliance on both foreign and locally sourced fossil fuels
Permanent and temporary employment opportunities for local skilled and unskilled people are created
This increased employment helps improve their economic conditions
Solar PV brings additional investment into a region and contributes towards infrastructure development
Reduces SOx, NOx and particulates air pollution associated with fossil fuel electricity generation
Acts to promote the uptake of solar PV power
Wind
Wind projects vary in size, both in terms of total installed capacity and the rated output of each wind turbine
They help improve the electricity grid’s supply, especially in areas where there is a supply/ demand gas
They help improve the local grid’s power characteristics, improving reliability and usability
Improving electricity supplies contribute to steady and reliable economic growth in a region
Wind projects displace fossil fuel-based electricity generation
By reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels, they help increase a country’s energy security
Local air quality is improved by avoiding the release of SOx, NOx and particulates
They help alleviate poverty through employment generation and improved economic activities due to a strengthening of the local grid
In the region around the wind project, infrastructure such as roads are improved and economic investment occurs
Run of River Hydro-electricity
Run-of-river hydro-electricity projects have no storage dams as a part of their design
As a project has no water storage facilities, power generation throughout the year depends on current stream flows
By reducing a region’s gap between electricity supply and demand, the grid’s reliability and electricity quality is improved
Improved electricity supplies helps support business opportunities in a region
Access to electricity creates opportunities for local people to establish new cottage and rural industries, providing additional income sources
Electricity is generated without carbon emissions or the SOx, NOx and particulates associated with fossil fuel electricity generation
Poverty is alleviated by generating direct and indirect employment during its construction and operation
This in turn helps reduce migration to the cities and improve rural development opportunities
Regional infrastructure development (e.g. roads) occurs
These projects mobilise additional investment into a region
Waste Biomass to Energy
Waste biomass to energy project use local surplus biomass residues (agricultural residues like maize stalk, rice husks, crop residues, bagasse) for generating heat and electricity
They typically install a boiler which provides both thermal and electrical generation capacity
Projects often operate collection stations around the plant where local farmers can sell their agricultural residues
The residues are a by-product of agriculture crops and not from a production process
Without these projects, fossil fuels would continue to be used to generate electricity and heat, and the agricultural residue dumped or left to decay in an uncontrolled manner
Reduces fossil carbon emissions by displacing fossil fuel derived electricity and thermal energy
Avoids CH4 emissions created where waste biomass is dumped or left to decay anaerobically
The ash by-product from the use of biomass to generate electricity and heat can also be used as a fertilizer
Improves the livelihoods of local people by creating employment opportunities
Develops new local economic activities around the purchase, transport and storage of the waste biomass
Project Examples
Household Biogas
GS 2664
Gold Standard
Hainan Province, China
15,555 household-scale biodigesters convert organic matter into biogas replacing coal fired stoves
Beyond the Carbon
Improved indoor air quality helps women and children’s health, money is no longer spent on coal and uncontrolled releases of methane from poor manure management
Solar Cookers
GS 7606
Gold Standard
Henan Province, China
50,000 parabolic solar cookers distributed free to rural households that use coal as a fuel for cooking and boiling water
Beyond the Carbon
Employment created and training provided, better indoor air quality improves household health and not paying for coal frees up money for other uses
Solar PV
VCS 1770
Verified Carbon Standard
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India
105 MW solar PV installed in 2 Indian states using over 1 million solar panels
Beyond the Carbon
Helps local electricity demand/ supply gap, reduces SOx, NOx and particulates and creates employment and infrastructure
Wind
VCS 1812
Verified Carbon Standard
Araripina, Brazil
358.8 MW grouped wind project composed of fourteen wind power plants, supplying electricity to Brazil’s national grid
Beyond the Carbon
Creates local employment, improves local electricity supplies and reduces SOx, NOx and particulates
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Buying carbon offsets from Beyond Neutral is easy
All the renewable energy carbon offset projects sold by Beyond Neutral are accredited under either VCS or Gold Standard , so the offset you buy has been created by a project
- that follows a specific methodology
- has been verified as having occurred by one of that Standard’s third party verification bodies
- is tracked in that Standard’s Registry using a unique serial number from issuance until retirement on your behalf
