The Sena Hydro Power Plant in Turkey, financed through the EBRD Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is compensating for the environmental impact of its 2016 Annual Meeting and Business Forum in London with offsets from the Sena Hydro Power Plant (HPP) in Turkey.
The Sena HPP has been financed by Garanti Bank under the EBRD Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF). MidSEFF is developed by the EBRD and is supported by the European Investment Bank and the European Union. The project in the Aras River basin consists of two run-of-river hydroelectric turbines, each with a capacity of 10.72 MWe. The electricity generated replaces electricity that would otherwise have been produced from fossil fuels, including coal.
The EBRD was also instrumental in the project’s registration under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), a voluntary offset standard, and the verification of the project’s first emission reductions since 2013. Support was provided under MidSEFF through a separate carbon market consultancy assignment funded by the Bank’s Shareholder Special Fund. This assignment seeks to develop the carbon market in Turkey in close collaboration with local partner banks with a view to advance their understanding of, and involvement in, carbon market developments.
The Sena HPP is the first MidSEFF carbon project to have carbon credits issued, an accomplishment which was recognised during the MidSEFF Awards Ceremony organised in Istanbul earlier this year. The EBRD entered into a contract for the purchase and retirement of 3,000 carbon credits to compensate for the 2016 Annual Meeting’s environmental impact. This includes greenhouse gas emissions caused by the travel and stay of an estimated 1,500 participants at the event. Rönesans Enerji, the project sponsor, is soliciting interest to sell the remainder (~18,000 credits) to interested parties.
The EBRD has consistently offset greenhouse gas emissions related to its Annual Meetings in Istanbul (2013), Warsaw (2014) and Tbilisi (2015).
In the spirit of the Bank’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, the Bank seeks to minimise its environmental impact where possible. For example, the EBRD is actively seeking to reduce the amount of waste produced in the run-up and during the Annual Meeting and Business Forum.
There is also a strong emphasis on waste recycling, reducing the use of plastic bottles and sourcing environmentally friendly merchandise.
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