BUSINESS
STANDARD
Southern Bio gets nod to sell carbon credits.
OUR REGIONAL BUREAU
Hyderabad. 17 August
The bio-diesel project of the city-based Southern
Online Bio Technologies Limited has become the first project
to receive the nod from the ministry of environment and forests
to sell certified carbon emission reductions to global carbon
purchasers.
Southern Online Bio plans to set up the bio-diesel
plant at Samsthan Narayanpur in Nalgonda district. The Rs 14.84
crore plant aims at producing 30 tonnes or 32,000 litres of
bio-diesel per day from oil-bearing seeds such as pongamia pinnata,
jatropha curcas etc. As per a report by the city-based consultants,
Zenith Energy, greenhouse. gases equivalent to 27,000 tonnes
of carbon dioxide can be avoided each year from the production
of30 tonnes of bio diesel per day.
The 'host-country approval' from the ministry
now makes it easier for the company to sell carbon emission
reductions under the terms laid down by the United Nations Framework
Convention for Climate Change. The company cannot, however,
sell carbon emission reductions to any agency, company or organisation
using the official development assistance (ODA) funds.
According to Southern Online Rio managing director
N Satish Kumar, a consortium of German companies, the World
Bank, and other private groups have evinced interest in purchasing
carbon from the company.
Recently,
Southern Online Rio became the first bio-diesel project in the
country to be recommended by any state government for the center's
approval for getting external funding. The Rs 14.84 crore project
is appraised by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), a financial
institution.