News
Nuon Takes Lead In Emerging Greenhouse Gas Market
Nuon completes extensive emission credits agreement
Amsterdam, 5 November 2004
Leading Dutch energy company Nuon has completed an agreement with an affiliate of AgCert International to purchase several million tonnes of Certified
Emission Reductions (CERs) to be delivered during the period 2005 to 2007. With this purchase Nuon takes a leading position in the fast emerging market for trading of greenhouse gas credits. This supply agreement represents the largest transaction to date in the GHG market.
Nuon intends to use this tonnage to fulfill its own EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) compliance targets and to hedge the portfolio of certain key customers. The emission trading according to the EU ETS is effective as of 1 January 2005.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Jogchum Brinksma, responsible for Sourcing & Trading at Nuon, said: “This deal is unique in its high volume of CERs, both to meet the offset requirements of Nuon’s own power generation emissions as well as those of its industrial customers.”
Thorsten Ansorg, Head of Nuon’s Environmental Team, added: “This transaction has strong commercial logic and also shows Nuon’s commitment to environmental issues.”
Merrick Andlinger, Chairman of AgCert, added: “We are very pleased to be partnered with Nuon in this transaction. The opening of the emissions credit market in Europe offers very substantial opportunities for AgCert as one of the very few companies able to supply credits on an industrial scale."
AgCert’s core business is generating greenhouse gas emission reductions from farm systems worldwide. The company works with farms to modify animal waste management practices in order to reduce the emissions. AgCert is currently working with farms in Brazil and Mexico to supply Nuon. AgCert is qualifying its emission reductions as CERs under the Kyoto Protocol for use in the EU ETS and in other countries which are participants in the Kyoto Protocol. The European Union has passed legislation mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the coming EU ETS, industrial companies producing emissions in excess of their allocated allowances will need to purchase emissions offsets or face fines of €40 per excess tonne, rising to €100 per ton by 1 January 2008. Companies are now seeking a cost efficient way to comply with their emission obligations.
About Nuon The turnover amounted to € 5.1 billion in 2003. Nuon employs 10,000 people. The principal shareholders of Nuon are the provinces of Friesland, Gelderland and North Holland and the Municipality of Amsterdam. For more information www.nuon.com AgCert International LLC Today, AgCert is one of only sixteen (16) companies or entities recognized by the CDM Executive Board with an approved methodology to produce CERs (AM0016). This methodology, initially focusing on transforming animal waste management systems within concentrated feeding operations, ensures AgCert's capabilities to produce emission reductions that comply with the Kyoto Accords, the Marrakech Accord's Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism projects, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and Canada's pending Domestic Trading System. ### |