At a glance
Nueva Aldea 2 is a biomass power plant built by Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A., a leading forestry company in Chile. It uses black residue from the pulping process in the pulp mill as a renewable fuel source to cogenerate heat and electricity. The project prevents pollution and creates jobs in the region, mainly when constructing and operating the power plant. It involves a reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases in the energy sector, or more specifically, it reduces GHG emissions sourced from fuel combustion in energy industries.
CO₂ benefits
Biomass is a renewable energy source that cannot be depleted and is usually sourced from agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, algae, and waste. The use of highly efficient equipment in the power plant allows for better use of local and renewable resources, while reducing the use of fossil fuels in grid-connected power plants. Replacing fossil fuels with sustainably produced biomass will reduce the net flow of CO2 to the atmosphere. This contributes to lower emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, in a country that has traditionally suffered from high levels of air pollution.
Biodiversity benefits
Biomass can reduce pollution, landfill, and overall waste, which is key to managing carbon levels and conserving local biodiversity. As is known, GHG emissions contribute to climate change, which poses a range of threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Not mitigating emission production can cause an increased risk of species extinctions, air and water pollution, and affecting vital ecosystem services. This specific project involves the reduction of GHG emission sources from fuel combustion in energy industries, which play an important role in conserving biodiversity in the long run. Lastly, the project consumes all the biomass that will be generated by the plant. This means that very little residues like ashes, plastics, and other industrial waste will be sent to landfill.
Socio-economic benefits
The project activity will assist Chile's sustainable growth by providing electricity through biomass power generation, which is a clean and renewable energy source. This sustainable source of power generation brings clear advantages to mitigating global warming. The effort helps to promote the development of renewable energy sources in Chile. It is a good example of the viability of electricity generation as a source of revenue not only to the pulp mill industry, but to all forest-related industries. And lastly, the project creates local employment during the construction and operation phase of the power plant, contributing to the local economic growth.
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Location of the project
Project verification
Clean Development Mechanism - Certified Emission Reduction
This project is CDM CER verified. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is operational since 2006 and is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The CDM offers the public and private sector in high-income nations the opportunity to purchase carbon credits from offset projects in low or middle-income nations, stimulating sustainable development, local economies, and emission reduction.
