Project Development

The people of BalanceCO2 partner with their clients at every step of the way. Their commitment to environment and surroundings help in developing an integrated plan for a sustainable future

Planning

Planning and Scoping are the cornerstones of any organization planning to manage its GHG management strategy. Scoping is the process of determining the content and extent of the matters which should be covered for any project. The scope of a project is the sum total of all of its products and their requirements or features. It deals with a more detailed plan of study for the project to identify major concerns, key impacts and alternatives and to decide assessment methods and models to be used. They may also cover: which should be considered;

Baseline surveys and investigations which should be carried out, the level of detail required and any special requirements for the same.
methods and criteria to be used for prediction and evaluation of effects;
mitigation measures which should be considered;
the structure, content and length of the GHG report
membership and management of the Team;
work plan and resourcing for the study including organizations to be consulted during the study;

The scoping services offered by BalanceCO2 help to provide of a comprehensive and balanced view of the important aspects of the project. We help focus resources on the important issues for decision-making and avoid wasted effort on issues of little relevance. Thus it leads to effective planning, management and resourcing of the project. It stimulates early consultation between the developer and the competent authority, other interested parties and the public, about the project and its environmental as well as socio-economic impacts. The process identifies alternatives to the proposed project and mitigating measures which ought to be considered by the developer. It also identifies other legislation or regulatory controls which may be relevant to the project and provide opportunities for the necessary assessment work for different control systems to be undertaken in parallel, thereby avoiding duplication of effort and costs. Following a work plan thus created reduces the risk of delays caused by requests for further information after submission of the development consent application and the environmental information. It also reduces the risk of disagreement about assessment methods.

Inception

Emissions Management is usually considered after the project or activity is being performed in classical approaches. BalanceCO2 many times drives home the activity of Inception of the project with reference to feasibility using innovative Emissions Trade concepts. Carbon financing helps in bringing feasibility and attractive returns to your capital investment using Environmental Economics as against traditional means. CDM is a novel mechanism, one that can potentially redirect the flow of investments to a variety of different projects, from major transportation initiatives to energy conservation measures to small-scale solar home systems to industrial fuel switch projects. Market-based management of the global atmosphere stimulates the transfer of technology and knowledge from the industrialized world to developing countries. It also lowers the cost of capping emissions so that the cap can be set as tightly as possible thus leading to maximum GHG reduction. CDM along with various other voluntary and mandatory GHG reduction schemes encourages private sector participation in addressing climate change through investment in emission reduction projects and the subsequent creation, purchase, and trading of CERs. Our team has vast experience in assessing the commercial viability of using current assets to develop a CDM project. Project developers will benefit from our detailed knowledge of the process, increasing the chance of their project successfully qualifying under the CDM.

Our services include:

Project formulation
Feasibility of reducing and monitoring GHG emissions
Possible delivery of CERs
Assessment of market value
Qualification as GHG project

Registration

Registration is the formal acceptance by the Executive Board of a validated project as a CDM project activity. It is the prerequisite for the verification, certification and issuance of CERs related to that project activity. A DOE or Designated Operational Entity recommends the project for registration to the registry. A Designated Operational Entity is either a domestic legal entity or an international organization accredited and designated, for validating and verifying a project activity. It verifies emission reduction of a registered project activity, certifies as appropriate and requests the Board to issue Certified Emission Reductions accordingly. After the DOE submits a request for registration, the registry processes and appraises the request. Depending on the review, the project is accepted or rejected. If a proposed project activity is not registered the first time, it may be resubmitted and registered later. The request for registration of a project activity shall be in the form of a validation report.

This report includes

the project design document,
the written approval of the host Party
an explanation of how the DOE has taken due account of public comments received
validation protocol used in the validation
Banking information on the payment of the registration fee
Scope of validation process (include all documentation that has been reviewed and name persons that have been interviewed as part of the validation, as applicable)
DOE Validation team (list of all persons involved in the validation, describing functions assumed in the validation)
Report of findings by the DOE, (e.g. corrective action requests, clarifications or observations)
validation opinion

Compliance

Projects will have to comply with relevant standards and legislation as well as established best practices in the respective sector. Prior approval of authorities and compliance with standards and legislation will determine the eligibility and success rate of the project. Thus the project proponent may have to carry out an environmental and social impact assessment, demonstrate contribution to sustainable development, and plan the project to be consistent with national environment and development priorities and strategies. Essentially, verification is the process of confirming the authenticity of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by a project over a defined period of time. In order to do this, a CDM project’s emission reductions are monitored and the monitoring data for a verification period is reviewed and assessed. Compliance regimes are more likely to focus on the “point of release” of emissions (i.e., direct emissions) and/or indirect emissions from use of energy. Once the target has been set, it is necessary to track performance against it in order to check compliance, and also—in order to maintain credibility—to report emissions and any external reductions in a consistent, complete and transparent manner. Issuance refers to the creation of certified emission reductions equivalent to the number of greenhouse gas emission reductions which have been generated, verified and certified in respect of a project activity

Project Development