Oglethorpe Power replanting trees for carbon credits
The replanting project will take place in a 33,000-acre state forest near the Okefenokee Swamp, a portion of southeastern Georgia that was devastated by wildfires two years ago.
Officials from Oglethorpe and the Georgia Forestry Commission, partners in the project, announced the initiative at an environmental conference in Savannah.
“We believe that planting more trees to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is an important part of addressing the climate change issue while also restoring our valuable forestlands and providing important wildlife habitat,” said Michael W. Price, Oglethorpe’s chief operating officer.
Under the plan, Oglethorpe will gain title to the carbon dioxide the replanted trees remove from the air for the first 25 years, then will share those rights with the state for an additional 50 years. Carbon dioxide is among the “greenhouse gases” linked to global warming.
Proposals allowing utilities to receive carbon credits for replanted trees to help offset power plant emissions are part of climate change legislation pending in Congress.
Oglethorpe is the nationÂ’s largest power supply cooperative with about $5 billion in assets. The utility serves 38 electric membership corporations with a total of 4.1 million customers.
Related News
UK Emergency energy plan not going ahead
LONDON - National Grid has decided not to activate a scheme on Tuesday to help the UK avoid power cuts after being poised to do so.
It would have seen some households offered discounts on their electricity bills if they cut peak-time use.
National Grid had been ready to trigger the scheme following a warning that Britain's energy supplies were looking tighter than usual this week.
However, it decided that the measure was not required.
Alerts are sent out automatically when expected supplies drop below a certain level. But they do not mean that blackouts are likely, or that the situation is critical.
National Grid…
