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GRS Sells US $1.8 Million of Renewable Energy Certificates
TORONTO, ON --
Clean Power Income Fund (CLE.UN: TSX) announced
today that Gas Recovery Systems, Inc. (GRS) of Livermore, California has
entered into a contract for the sale of US $1.8 million of Renewable Energy
Certificates (RECs) to Massachusetts Electric, a subsidiary of National Grid
USA. The sale involves RECs generated from the third quarter 2002 through to
the end of 2004 by two of GRS's 29 biogas generating stations, Fall River and
Randolph - both located in Massachusetts. The REC revenues from the Fall River
generating station are shared with the Town of Taunton, Mass., which is
expected to receive US $400,000 during the contract period.
The GRS contracts were negotiated by CSGServices, Inc., an affiliate of
Conservation Services Group of Westborough, Mass., pursuant to the
Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (225 CMR 14.00) which came into
effect in April 2002. As Stephen L. Cowell, CEO of CSG explained, "The law was
created to establish a baseline of demand for cleaner, newer power plants and
reward these cleaner technologies for their increased environmental
performance when compared to conventional power plants".
Under these new regulations, resellers of electricity in Massachusetts
must include green energy in their mix of power resources to at least a
minimum standard. One option for satisfying these requirements is the purchase
of RECs from qualified suppliers. The sale of "green" attributes embodied in
the RECs may involve a separate and distinct transaction from the sale of
power. In the case of the agreement between GRS and Massachusetts Electric,
GRS's existing power sales contracts are unaffected, giving GRS incremental
revenues from the sale of RECs.
"These new contracts demonstrate the impact on GRS's operations of the
Renewable Portfolio Standard regulations now coming into force across the
United States," said Stephen Probyn, President and CEO of Clean Power Inc.,
Administrator of Clean Power Income Fund. "We are pleased to see the market
for the 'green' attributes of renewable power generation developing in New
England and hope for additional REC sales based on our facilities in the
region. As we announced in December 2002, in terms of new contracts with San
Diego Gas & Electric, RPS legislation in California is already having a
significant impact on GRS's operations there. Now that some 14 U.S. states -
including, most recently, New York - have either implemented or are in the
process of implementing RPS laws, we expect to see a positive impact
nationwide."
Landfill gas (LFG), also known as biogas, is largely comprised of
methane, which is 21 times more damaging to the environment than an equivalent
volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By capturing and converting LFG into
energy, GRS's operations eliminate some 5.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent
per year. On October 31, 2002, Clean Power Income Fund closed its investment
of US $94 million to finance the acquisition of GRS, which is the largest
independent landfill gas recovery power generator in the United States. GRS
owns and operates 29 LFG recovery facilities in nine states and is the largest
independent LFG recovery power generator in North America.
CLEAN POWER INCOME FUND
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