E.ON and Bionersis Announce Partnership for Southeast Asian CDM Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--German power and gas company E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), through E.ON Climate and Renewables (EC&R), a division responsible for renewable energy and climate protection, has announced a partnership with Bionersis (EPA:MLBRS) (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) to develop Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in Southeast Asia.

The CDM is a part of the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol ratified in 1997, which set commitments on 39 developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a 5.2% average of the levels existing in 1990. The Kyoto Protocol allows developing countries to achieve their targets in various ways through "Flexibility Mechanisms," of which the CDM is an important part. The CDM allows developed countries to reach part of their reduction targets through investments in projects in developing countries that either reduce emissions, or sequester or fix carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Under the terms of the partnership, Bionersis, which is experienced in developing and operating landfill sites, will install methane recovery and flaring systems on selected landfill sites in the region, while EC&R will apply expertise in gas-fired power generation to develop electricity production capability using methane obtained from Bionersis' technology.

The two firms will share revenues from the power generated and from the certified emission credits, one of which is approximately equal to a ton of carbon dioxide. For other greenhouse gases, such as methane, the unit is based on multiples of carbon dioxide with regard to the global warming potential of the gas.

The initial project to be set up by the partnership is the Kamphaeng Saen landfill site in Thailand, which covers more than 54 hectares and is one of the largest landfill sites in Southeast Asia. The project will be planned in two stages, the first being the recovery and destruction of methane gas from the landfill by flaring. This will involve assessment of the gas quality, volume obtained and efficiency of the system. The second stage will entail the use of methane to generate electricity, and is to be implemented in 2011.

The Kamphaeng Saen project is expected to generate about 2 million CERs over the next 10 years and has been registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The total investment in the project is expected to be about $7.5 million. Several other similar projects planned by the partnership are under investigation, and the partners are confident that these will be developed in the next 18 months.

Landfills are the oldest and most common method of waste disposal. Anaerobic digestion of dumped organic matter by microbial action results in the generation of landfill gas, mainly methane--which is about 21 times more toxic than carbon dioxide--from the decomposition of the waste material. This gas normally collects underground and sometimes escapes through the covering ground layer and has been known to cause explosions such as in 1993 at the Umraniye Hekimbasi landfill site in Turkey, which caused 39 deaths; at Loscoe in England in 1986; and at Skellingsted in Denmark in 1991.

On average, a ton of household waste will produce about 150 to 200 cubic meters of landfill gas in 15 to 25 years. Considering that the calorific value of landfill gas is about 38 megajoules per cubic meter and that the Kamphaeng Saen landfill site is used as the repository for an average 9,000 tons per day of garbage collected in Bangkok, there is considerable energy potential in the project.

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