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Spanish firm buying carbon credits from Maibarara project in Philippines

Spanish firm buying carbon credits from Maibarara project in Philippines Maibarara geothermal field at Mount Makiling, Philippines
Alexander Richter 1 Feb 2011

Philippine Maibara Geothermal Inc.signs agreement with Spanish firm Endesa Carbono on the sale of all carbon credits from the planned 20MW Maibara geothermal power plant.

Announced by the company and reported from the Philippines, “Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) signed on Monday an agreement with Endesa Carbono S.L. of Spain for the purchase of all the carbon credits to be generated by the local firm’s planned 20-megawatt Maibarara power facility.

Stakeholders PetroEnergy Resources Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. explained in separate disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange that Endesa Carbono would be buying MGI’s carbon credits from 2013, when the geothermal power plant is expected to start commercial operations, to 2020.

Endesa Carbono is part of Endesa, the leading electricity company in Spain and the largest private electricity company in Latin America. It offers expertise in the carbon market and draws on long experience in greenhouse gas emission reduction projects.

PetroEnergy vice president Francisco Delfin Jr. claimed that among the nine new geothermal contracts awarded by the Department of Energy last year, Maibarara Geothermal was the only one so far that had secured these forward sales of carbon credits.

“Given the uncertainty in the carbon market after the Kyoto Protocol, Endesa’s commitment to buy carbon credits to be derived from the operation of Maibarara is a further testament of the (geothermal power) project’s viability,” Delfin noted.

The P2.8-billion (US$63m) Maibarara geothermal project is assured of a buyer for its carbon credits. The agreement will PetroEnergy explained that with the signing of the Certified Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement, the likewise provide MGI with a secondary revenue stream apart from electricity sales.”

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer