Tamil Nadu Newsprint to foray into carbon trading

Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd (TNPL) has announced that the company is all set to enter into carbon trading after having got its bio-methanation plant registered as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project with UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

With this, the company has emerged as the first paper mill in India that registered a CDM project with UNFCCC. The Certified Emission Reduction (CER) accumulations up to March 2006 is likely to be around 90,000 and the potential annual generation is estimated at 35,680 CER, according to a BSE posting.

The bio-methanation plant was set up in 2003 to generate methane rich bio-gas from bagasse wash water. The project was supported by the ministry of non-conventional energy sources as a demonstration project for high rate bio-methanation using pulp and paper mill waste water.

By this process, the company generates about 15,000 M3 of bio-gas every day. The gas is being utilised in the lime kiln to partly replace the costly furnace oil to the tune of 8-10 kilolitre a day.

Besides resulting in the reduction of fossil fuel consumption, the project helps in reducing the methane gas emission to atmosphere, which has high global warming potential (21 times than that of carbon dioxide). It is estimated that the company's project can generate 35,860 CERs annually.

Following the registration with UNFCCC and the project already in operation, the company is exploring the possibilities of trading CERs to developed countries.

At present, TNPL is implementing a Mill Development Plan (MDP) at a capital outlay of Rs 565 crore. Under MDP, the capacity of in-house chemical bagasse pulp will be increased from 400 tonnes per day (tpd) to 500 tpd with Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching.

Besides, the paper production capacity too will be increased from 2,30,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 2,45,000 tpa. The MDP is expected to be complete by September 2006.

TNPL generates 21.75 megawatt of power from its wind farms situated at Devarkulam and Muppandal in south Tamil Nadu. The company exports the entire power generated from its wind farms to the state grid.

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Greener pastures

The company has emerged as the first paper mill in India that registered a CDM project with UNFCCC

The company is exploring the possibilities of trading CERs to developed countries

TNPL is implementing a Mill Development Plan (MDP) at a capital outlay of Rs 565 crore

Paper production capacity will be increased from 2,30,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 2,45,000 tpa