200,000 carbon offsets requested by Sacramento Utilities
The Sacramento Municipal Utilities Department (SMUD) issued a Request for Offers (RFO) to purchase 200,000 carbon offset credits for use in the California carbon market.
The carbon offset credits must be generated from one of four protocols approved by the California Air Resources Board.
The four project types include Forestry, Urban Forestry, Livestock Methane and the destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances.
The announcement of this RFO comes in the midst of a very busy week for the California carbon market.
430,000 California carbon allowances traded over the week with the price closing at $20 apiece.
Carbon offset credits will become a valuable compliance instrument as regulated emitters in the state deal with the indefinite suspension of a nuclear power plant following the discovery of a radiation leak discovered early this year.
Since nuclear power plants do not produce carbon emissions, the increased generation required by fossil fuel burning facilities will push carbon levels closer to mandated cap for 2013.
(7/27/12)