Nga Awa Purua project sells annual carbon credits for proceeds of US$8 million
Nga Awa Purua geothermal power plant, New Zealand (source: Mighty River Power)
Alexander Richter
29 Jul 2011
The Nga Awa Purua JV, owned by New Zealand based Tauhara No. 2 Trust and utility Mighty River Power, sells 410,000 Emissions Reduction Units to Deutsche Bank for proceeds of US$8 million.
In a release by New Zealand based Mighty River Power, the company announces that “The Nga Awa Purua Joint Venture, owned by the Tauhara North No. 2 Trust and Mighty River Power, has recently concluded the sale of 410,000 Emissions Reduction Units (ERUs) to Deutsche Bank AG for NZ$9.3m (US$8 million) at NZ$22.78 per unit.
The Joint Venture, which owns the Nga Awa Purua geothermal power station, secured rights to up to 791,000 Projects to Reduce Emission units (PREs) in 2004. In the first year after commissioning, the geothermal power station earned 410,000 ERUs from the PRE scheme, which were on-sold internationally.
The New Zealand Government PRE scheme operated in 2003/04 and allocated PREs to qualifying greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, in order to reduce the country’s overall carbon emissions. The PRE allocation to the Nga Awa Purua geothermal power station reflects its displacement of high carbon intensity thermal electricity generation.
The 140MW Nga Awa Purua geothermal power station is located on the Rotokawa geothermal field North-East of Taupo, and was commissioned in early 2010.”
Source: Company release
