The Skeldon Sugar Moder-nization Project (SSMP) has become the first local project to be registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) under the Clean Development Mech-anism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol enabling it to sell Certified Emission Reduc-tions (CER).
According to a press release from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the SSMP was registered with the UNFCC on May 4. Being registered as a CDM project allows the sugar company to sell CERs that result from the generation of electrical energy produced from bagasse fuel.
Bagasse is the fibrous residue that remains after the extraction of sucrose from sugar cane and as a biomass it represents a renewable energy source.
The release said generation of electricity from bagasse displaces fossil fuels that would otherwise be used to generate electricity. The overall effect is a reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
The statement noted that the Kyoto Protocol is an important first step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize Greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that will avoid dangerous climate change.
“The first CERs will be generated when the new Skeldon sugar factory begins operation in the second half of 2008,” the release added noting that there are currently three other CDM projects registered in the Caribbean in Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
