Perenia: Our total carbon solution

To take full advantage of this thriving market and bring our unique expertise in project development to the table, Pacific Hydro has joined forces with Australian engineering consulting firm SMEC, to create Perenia, a complete, end-to-end carbon consulting business.

With our partner we have more than fifty years' combined experience in the identification, design, and operation of clean energy projects. Pacific Hydro also brings considerable knowledge and experience gained through successfully registering our Chilean hydro projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. This has positioned us as one of the few companies with a first-hand understanding of the CDM process and how to structure and complete deals for the sale of carbon credits.

Perenia assists developers of emission-reduction projects in developing countries to create and sell carbon credits under the CDM. It does this by providing expertise throughout the entire project lifecycle, from project development and registration, through to carbon credit origination, marketing and transaction. The Perenia approach helps reduce project and delivery risk to achieve maximum value for our clients.

Perenia already has wide market coverage, with offices in 11 countries including India, China, Chile, Brazil and Australia.

The business is managing a significant pipeline of projects that will generate up to 8 million carbon credits each year at maturity. In Chile alone, La Higuera and La Confluencia run-of-river hydro projects each have the potential to generate almost one million carbon credits per year.

As one of the few carbon credit consulting businesses with hands-on experience in developing clean energy projects, Perenia is well positioned to become a key player in this fast emerging market.

Our partner

SMEC International Pty (SMEC) is one of the world's leading engineering and development consultancies. Providing consulting services in engineering, project management, environmental management and development activities, SMEC has been engaged in assignments throughout the world for 30 years.  SMEC has been active in climate change consulting since 1998 and in the CDM since 2005, with the registration of the 56MW Lihir Geothermal Power Project in Papua New Guinea.  Since that time the company has built a diverse portfolio of CDM projects throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Carbon credits explained

The carbon market involves the buying and selling of emission allowances and reduction credits (carbon credits) in order to enable countries and companies to meet their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets or caps under the Kyoto Protocol and similar initiatives. Carbon trading introduces a price for carbon - placing a cost on emissions and a value on reductions. Pacific Hydro generates carbon credits through projects recognised under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). CDM recognises projects that reduce carbon emissions in developing countries and rewards them with tradeable credits called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). As these developing countries do not have any Kyoto targets of their own, these CERs can be sold to countries that do, allowing those countries to meet their targets without actually having to make any cuts. Under the Kyoto agreement, a CER is proof enough that the world's net greenhouse emissions have been reduced. One CER equates to an emission reduction of one tonne of carbon dioxide.

More information at http://www.pereniacarbon.com/