UP vies for biggest carbon credit earner tag in India
Power-starved Uttar Pradesh has drawn up the country's largest plan to earn carbon credits.
The idea is to save power by distributing subsidised compact fluorescent lamps in exchange of the usual incandescent bulbs. By distributing about 1 crore subsidised CFLs, the state plans to ultimately save over 1,000 MW of peak hour electricity.
The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited along with Banyan Environmental Innovations Ltd of Hyderabad has designed about 30 such projects, which will be implemented across the state in stages.
The state has already been successful in registering one of these projects ULEEP-1 — with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to earn about 18,356 carbon credits (Certified Emission Reductions). These carbon credits will be earned through the distribution of about 3 lakh CFLs at Rs 12 each in the Varanasi zone of UPPCL in exchange for incandescent bulbs. The Power Corporation is busy finalising the methods by which these CFLs would be distributed in the urban area of Varanasi.
The ULEEP-II (Uttar Pradesh Lightning Energy Effeciency Project) for Lucknow is also in its final stages and is likely to be registered by the second week of August. It will distribute another 3 lakh subsidised CFLs.
Power department officials said the remaining 28 projects are at different stages with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, which has been made the nodal agency for Clean Development Mechanism projects in India.
"Taken together, this is definitely be the biggest such project in the country. We plan to cover all consumers within Paschimanchal, Madhyanchal, Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and under the Kanpur Electricity Supply Company." said Varalika Dubey, Executive Engineer, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, UPPCL. Such projects are being taken up in other states as well but at smaller level, she said. In Chhattisgarh, the distribution agencies took six months to distribute CFLs. "But since the scale will be larger in Uttar Pradesh, we are trying to figure out ways in which we can complete the distribution one month after each project starts." Mayank Agrawal, who is heading Banyan Environmental Innovations affairs in the state, said: "We are working in five states — UP, AP, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Considering the size of UP and 30 projects, it is a challenge for us as well and we are at present working to start distribution in Varanasi first."
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