Date:12/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/12/stories/2005121201831300.htm

Back CDM body clears TASMA wind energy project

G. Gurumurthy

Coimbatore , Dec. 11

THE wind energy project presented by Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA), seeking registration for carbon emission reduction (CER) certificates, has received the host country approval from the National CDM (clean development mechanism) Authority functioning under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The project concept note and the project design document (PDD) for the bundled wind energy project prepared by the association in consultation with URs Productively, a professional PDD consultancy body, were screened and approved by the National CDM Authority in its sitting last month, TASMA sources said.

The design document approval is crucial stage for the cleaner energy project going through the process of securing registration for CER certification.

The next stage will be the validation of the project by an external agency that will evaluate the project before it is filed for the registration with the executive board of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

The sources told Business Line that TUV South Asia Pvt Ltd, the German validating agency entrusted with the task of evaluating the project, is expected to complete the third party evaluation within a week, facilitating the association to file its application immediately.

TASMA hopes to get the project registered before the end of this month with the UN board to enable it to claim the clean mechanism benefits for the period beginning 2003.

TASMA has bundled the wind energy projects of its member-mills to achieve the mass in claiming the benefits in terms of long-running years of benefits as in respect of clean energy projects of less than 15 MW capacity, the availability of the benefit is restricted to seven years.

In the case of projects having capacity beyond 15 MW, the CDM benefits will run for 10 years.

The design document for TASMA's wind energy project covers 725 wind generating units of its member mills with a cumulative generation capacity of 476 MW.