Methane eyed as source of income

CEBU, Philippines - Aside from protecting the environment and preventing climate change, methane, once reduced and converted, can be a source of income if sold to emerging carbon markets.

As a market-based mechanism whose primary aim is to buy and sell carbon credits, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows developed countries to invest in carbon emission reduction projects at the same time, assisting developing countries in achieving sustainable development.

CDM specialist Jeanette Laurente said that once these emission reduction projects generate carbon reduction credits to the investors, there is money in CDM.

She added that carbon credit prices vary depending on the supply and demand. In 2011, a ton of carbon dioxide costs 10 – 14 Euros but in this year, she noted, that a CO2 ton now costs 4 Euros.

With Payatas waste to energy project that got profit from the project as an example, she encouraged more landfill operators to participate since CDM is a possible mitigation measure putting a cost to greenhouse gases (GHG) caused by human-induced emissions and making polluters accountable.

Laurente explained that methane, a GHG released when wastes decompose in the landfill, can be captured with the help of technology and be converted to electricity and carbon credits. At the same time, such methane emission reduction contributes to lesser emission in the atmosphere and prevents climate change.

“The more wastes decomposed, the more methane produced. But the more participants, the better,” she said in an interview.

Meanwhile, Philippine Council for Industry and Emerging Technology Research and Development Chief Science Research Specialist Albert Mariño said that methane is 21% stronger than carbon dioxide which is more potent in contributing to global warming.

Globally, landfills are the third largest anthropogenic source of methane, accounting for approximately 11 percent of estimated global methane emissions.

“If you expose methane in the atmosphere, it’s stronger. But if you reduce methane and utilize this as a source of energy, we can reduce the methane emission, can benefit the environment and can get some income for power generation,” he said during the Global Methane Initiative - Philippine Landfill Gas Forum.

The forum, attended by landfill operators in the Visayas cluster, presented the basics of landfill methane energy project planning and financing and a landfill gas (LFG) estimation exercise for them to be able to assess methane gas emission of the landfill.

Mariño discussed the opportunities for advancing landfill gas projects under the GMI partnership which implements LFG energy projects and increase LFG emission reductions.

He added that with such partnership, it can contribute to the capability building of methane reduction for agriculture and landfills in the country and establishment of gas resource inventory.

With the collaboration of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Energy and Land Bank of the Philippines, he said that the sustainable project also aimed to capacitate local government units to facilitate proper technology and promote solid waste management.

Launched in 2004, GMI is a voluntary, multilateral partnership that aims to reduce global methane emissions and to advance the abatement, recovery and use of methane as a valuable clean energy source. Methane, on the other hand, is considered a “short-term climate forcer” which has a relatively short lifespan in the atmosphere for approximately 12 years but has a greater ability of trapping heat. (FREEMAN)