Capital Power’s Environmental Vision
Capital Power is actively involved in many projects designed to empower North American markets to reduce the environmental impacts of power generation and water treatment.
In this section you can read about initiatives Capital Power has undertaken to create real, verifiable reductions in GHG emissions.
Capital Power considers itself to be a leader in GHG emission offset project development and procurement based on the volume of its purchase and retirement of offsets and diverse mix of offset projects. In 2007 and 2008, the first two years that emission reductions were mandated in Alberta, Capital Power applied 34% and 21%, respectively, of all GHG emission offset credits in the Province. Capital Power has a significant portfolio of GHG offsets developed or under contract from sources such as landfill gas, low tillage agriculture and acid gas injection.
Read more about Capital Power’s projects
Capital Power has always been a leader in the creation and trading of real, verifiable greenhouse gas emission credits (offsets).
Capital Power also advocates for market structures that incent power and water conservation.
Capital Power believes governments should mandate that new Canadian power generation come from the Best Available Technology Economically Achievable (BATEA) – a technology that can achieve superior emissions performance and that has been demonstrated to be economically feasible through successful commercial application across a range of regions and fuel types.
Capital Power advocates that all consumers need to pay the true cost of power. Passing on the true cost to customers is critical because it sends necessary signals, reminding us to conserve and make more prudent use of our resources.
Greenhouse Gas Offsets
Capital Power supports the trading of verified emission offsets because markets efficiently allocate capital to the best reduction opportunities.
Trading offsets is essential for the efficient allocation of capital to emission reduction opportunities. In order to create and trade offsets, market participants require certainty about market trading regulations.
A greenhouse gas (GHG) offset is generated by the reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of GHG emissions from a specific project. Offsets are so named because they counteract or offset greenhouse gases that would have been emitted into the atmosphere; they are a compensating equivalent for reductions made at a specific source of emissions.
The creation of offsets through greenhouse gas reductions, and their trading, is essential if the industry and the national government are to achieve GHG reductions. Few in the power industry have access to sufficient internal investment opportunities to economically create GHG reductions on the scale required.
All market participants and governments have an interest in offsets that are real and verifiable: certification is essential to ensure the reductions have been made and for risk-management.
Canada’s market trading scheme is at initial stages of development and has yet to launch. The lack of market regulations impedes the creation and management of offsets.
To provide certainty for industry and government, Capital Power advocates that the market:
- Include clear rules for offset eligibility and verification.
- Provide access to verifiable credits from international markets. Canadian markets will have insufficient supply to meet domestic needs, and access to additional markets will reduce the cost to Canadians.