Our carbon offset projects
Camil Itaqui Biomass Electricity Project
The CAMIL Itaqui Biomass Electricity Generation Project is Clear's first carbon offset project and an excellent example of how offsets can beneift a community while delivering reliable emissions reductions. It generates clean electricity using discarded risk husks (biomass) which would have been left to decay and produce methane, one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases. The electricity consumption from the grid is totally displaced by the power plant and the surplus is sold to the grid. The project is located in Itaqui city, Brazil, and has been operational since 2001. The amount of CO2e avoided because of this project is estimated to be 57,341 tonnes every year.
The main activity in the region is rice production and processing and CAMIL is the biggest rice company in Brazil. Rice mills generate huge amounts of biomass residues (mainly rice husks). Brazilian and local state legislation prohibits the unlicensed displacement and/or uncontrolled burning of that rice husks, as well as the land filling of rice husks, allowing displacement in previously licensed areas. As result, huge amount of rice husks were being left to decay. Before the power plant installation, 81% of rice husks produced were disposed in legal landfills outside the site of CAMIL-Itaqui rice processing plant. After the project implementation, 70% of total rice husk production is being used for fuel in the boiler, with a surplus of 30% rice husks which are disposed in legal landfills outside the location where the project activity takes place. After October 2005 surplus electricity has been sold to the grid, using 93% of all generated rice husks for project activity. The surplus of 7% rice husks is disposed in legal landfills outside the location where the project activity takes place.
The CAMIL project uses a biomass electricity unit with 4.2 MWe of installed capacity for generating energy from rice husks residues. Currently CAMIL demands a maximum of 3.5 MWe, resulting in 0.7 MWe available for the grid. The amount of biomass used by third suppliers is nill, so the company does not depend on external sources of biomass to maintain the power plant in a fully operational state.
Contribution of Camil Itaqui to sustainable development
The project is promoting sustainable development to the host country, providing:
• Increased employment in the area where the plant is located;
• Diversification in the sources of electricity generation;
• Use of clean and efficient technologies, and conserving natural resource to meet Agenda 21 and the Sustainable Development Criteria of Brazil;
• Actions as a clean technology demonstration project, encouraging development of modern and more efficient generation of electricity and thermal energy using biomass fuel throughout the country;
• Optimisation in the use of natural resources, avoid new uncontrolled waste disposal places, using a large amount of rice residues from region.
More information can be found here.
