American Electric Power has
announced an agreement with Environmental Credit Corp (ECC) to purchase
approximately 4.6 million carbon credits generated from capturing
methane on livestock farms.
American Electric Power has announced an agreement with Environmental Credit Corp (ECC) to purchase approximately 4.6 million carbon credits generated from capturing methane on livestock farms. The agreement is part of the first large-scale U.S. livestock methane offset program that will capture and destroy methane from approximately 400,000 head of livestock on as many as 200 U.S. farms.
According to the terms of the agreement, AEP will purchase up to 600,000 carbon credits per year between 2010 and 2017 at a fixed price from
ECC. In return, ECC will work with farmers to design and provide lagoon cover systems, including gas meters and flares, at no cost to participating farmers. ECC will also provide data monitoring, reporting, independent verification, certification and registration of the carbon credits with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
Methane from livestock manure accounts for 6.6 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Through the ‘methane capture’ program, ECC will install covers on manure storage lagoons to capture and flare (burn off) methane, converting it to CO2, a less potent greenhouse gas. Capturing and flaring the methane from manure lagoons significantly reduces the greenhouse gases, as well as odors, emitted from livestock farms.
Visit www.aep.com or www.envcc.com
