The Hindu          28.01.2011

Corporation to get carbon credits for its energy initiative

The Coimbatore Corporation is planning to acquire carbon credits for its energy conservation initiatives in street lights.

Once the initiatives start, the Corporation would talk to an energy consultant, who would not only assess the carbon credits earned but also help get the financial incentives attached thereto, said a source. For the first three or four years, the credits and the financial benefit would go to the agency the Corporation had identified for carrying out the energy conservation initiatives. Thereafter, the civic body would get to enjoy the same.

The source explained that the carbon credits would be calculated based on the power saved. For, every unit of power saved is treated as generated and the amount of carbon emitted in generating a unit of power is taken as the savings. The energy conservation initiatives are expected to begin by February. The private agency the Corporation has identified has been tasked with automatically switch on and off the lights at right time as per seasonal requirement. It will also dim lights during non-peak hours.

The agency will do so using a micro-controller-based energy saving equipment, which will be fixed at switching points. It will operate the equipment wirelessly using GSM technology.

Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra said the objective of the initiatives were to bring down the energy consumption by around 30 per cent and save money on power bill. At present the Corporation consumes 2.66 lakh units (kWh) and spends close to Rs. 8.77 lakh. It has 37,118 street lights spread over 72 wards. The agency has completed the preliminary survey and testing and the Corporation has also authenticated the same.