NAIROBI, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Kenya Electricity Generating Company’s (KenGen) certified emission reduction credits (CERs) available for sale have more than tripled, it said on Wednesday.
The United Nations-approved CER is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2). The carbon offset system is part of emission reduction efforts under the Kyoto Protocol.
State-controlled KenGen, which is the biggest producer of electricity in country, said in a statement it has received an extra 2.04 million CERs worth $3.9 million, certified under United Nations guidelines on climate change.
The additional CERs are from its 140 MW Olkaria 1 Units 4 and 5 geothermal power plant, the company said, and add to the 550,981 it had as of July.
Those credits are set to earn the company about 119 million Kenyan shillings ($1.09 million), the statement said.
“This brings the amount of carbon credits issued to KenGen to date to 2,591,496 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent,” the company said.
KenGen has an installed generation capacity of 1,818 MW, with over 86% coming from renewable sources including wind, hydroelectric and geothermal.
Overall, it has six projects under the Clean Development Mechanism, the UN system which allows developing countries to earn CERs, the statement said.
Rebecca Miano, KenGen’s chief executive officer, said another 140 MW geothermal plant, Olkaria IV, was also being reviewed and would soon be certified for an extra 2.03 million CERs.
In May, the government said it planned to establish an emissions trading system to allow companies and other bodies to buy emissions allowances as part of a push to limit the release of greenhouse gases.
Kenya loses 2.0–2.4% of its gross domestic product per year due to the effects of climate change, such as drought and floods, a 2018 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics study showed.
