Farmers in Pennsylvania could soon be earning carbon credits for burning a clean fuel that they help grow right on those farms.
Biodiesel Magazine reports that the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has partnered with Global Emissions Exchange of Closter, N.J. to work out a plan they hope to roll out by the last quarter of this year that will give the credits for using biodiesel in no-till practices:
When the biodiesel-focused portion of the program rolls out, farmers will earn carbon credits at a rate of 19.7 pounds of carbon dioxide reduction per gallon of B100 biodiesel used, according to Philip Gotthelf, managing director for the Global Emissions Exchange. The protocol used to determine the carbon credits earnings for biodiesel was developed in cooperation with Amerigreen BioFuels Inc., a biodiesel wholesaler and blender in Lower Swatara Township, Penn.
“That’s a protocol that can be rolled out to any of the biodiesel distributors,” Gotthelf said. “If someone wants to register their brand, they can go to the exchange to do it in the manufacturer’s registration area or they can contact us directly.”
Gotthelf said the Global Emissions Exchange is a fractional carbon exchange that allows anyone to register any energy efficient product or technology, from a single light bulb to an entire wind farm. He said the system allows for small quantities of emissions reductions to be combined into one-pound and one-kilogram carbon credits, which can then be sold on the exchange.
Gotthelf says biodiesel producers might also be able to purchase carbon credits from their consumers that could be traded for a discount on the biodiesel they buy.