January 30, 2015
The first SOCIARBON project registered in APX is also the first SOCIALCARBON project in India
APX, Inc. and Instituto Ecológica announced this week an agreement allowing for the issuance of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) with the SOCIALCARBON certification on the APX VCS Registry. The partnership expands the available registry options for the project developers of emission reduction projects certified by the SOCIALCARBON Standard.
The first project to utilize the process was 4.50 MW Akkihebbal Mini Hydel Scheme, owned by Cauvery Hydro Energy Ltd. Located in the state of Karnataka, India, the hydropower project is a 4.5MW run-of-river scheme that generates about 13 GWh of renewable energy every year, helping the carbon emission reduction.
However, clean renewable energy is not the only by-product of this initiative. A proportion of the carbon finance generated by the project goes towards funding a local program that provides free secondary and higher education to less fortunate children. Other positive impacts are the creation of jobs, charitable donations and the establishment of a tree plantation area.
All of these additional activities have resulted in the first ever SOCIALCARBON Certification in India. The SOCIALCARBON Standard works as an add-on certification designed to quantify the social, environmental and economic performance of carbon projects.
Carbon Clear is the main supporter of the project and according to the project manager Olivier Levallois: “We are supporting projects to certify with SOCIALCARBON as we believe it is a rigorous and progressive way to become accountable for their impacts and receive recognition for their continuous efforts towards a more inclusive society”.
The Akkihebbal Hydropower Scheme is also certified to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). Emergent Ventures International Pte Ltd was commissioned to monitor and certify the co-benefits of the project to the SOCIALCARBON Standard.