Renewables
Infrastructure-scale | Renewable Electricity
Wind
Solar PV
Geothermal
Waste Biomass to Energy
Run-of-River Hydro-Electricity
Renewable energy projects that supply electricity to the grid displace energy generated from fossil fuels.
The electricity they supply avoids emissions from the power stations that would otherwise have been used to generate that amount of electricity.
The emissions avoided are verified by either VCS or Gold Standard and can be used as a carbon offset.
When you buy a carbon offset from the Renewables theme, you are buying a tonne of verified climate benefits
Renewables | Project Types
The usual project types we sell are solar PV, wind, and run-of-river hydro-electricity (RoR Hydro).
Geothermal (using the Earth’s energy) and waste biomass to energy (agricultural crop residues converted to process heat and/or electricity) are also available.
Renewables | Sustainability Beyond Carbon
These projects reduce a country’s reliance on energy from fossil fuels, which are often imported at great expense.
Carbon offsets help support the renewable energy industry’s development in countries where there are barriers to its establishment.
Successful projects help increase renewable electricity’s uptake in local electricity markets.
An electricity project brings or improves electricity supply to poor communities in the region.
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]
Renewables | Renewable Electricity Carbon Offsets
Renewables | 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.
Renewables | 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.
Renewables | 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.
Renewables | 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.
Renewables | Project Examples
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; and
- is tracked in that Standard’s Registry using a unique serial number from issuance until retirement on your behalf.
