GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services

GE Energy Financial Services and The AES Corporation formed GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services, a joint venture that creates and sells scientifically verified greenhouse gas credits in the United States and markets them to companies that want to reduce the environmental impact of their operations or provide “green” products or services.

The environmental challenge

GE is continuing its commitment to practices that reduce impact on the environment by investing through this joint venture in greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in the United States.

GE's innovative solution

GE Energy Financial Services and The AES Corporation have formed GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services, a joint venture that develops and invests in projects that reduce emissions. These projects work by avoiding or reducing greenhouse gases that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere, or by reducing fossil fuel consumption through energy efficiency and renewable energy generation. GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services will then sell independently verified greenhouse gas credits from these projects to companies that want to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.

GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services has received formal certification under GE’s ecomagination program in collaboration with GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy and marketing firm that served as an advisor, to provide independent and quantitative environmental analysis and verification of GE’s ecomagination claims. Furthermore, credits generated by emissions reduction projects will be verified by a qualified independent third-party, and supporting data for each project will be transparently reported to the public.

Environmental Impact

Greenhouse gas credits may be generated through a variety of projects, including projects that reduce methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential 21 times greater than carbon dioxide. The joint venture has developed projects designed to stop greenhouse gases from escaping into the atmosphere through the reduction of emissions at sites such as landfills and wastewater treatment plants, as well as cattle, hog and poultry farms. In addition to these methane-based projects, the joint venture is also pursuing energy efficiency projects such as electricity generation from renewable sources and forestry.

All greenhouse gas credits provided by GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services are intended to meet or exceed the requirements for project quantification methodologies, monitoring, verification, transparency and credit registration.

Cutting Costs

The joint venture seeks to create an annual production volume of 10 million metric tons of greenhouse gas credits by 2010. For each metric ton of CO2 equivalent reduced or avoided, a credit is created. Commercial and industrial customers can purchase these credits to help “offset” their carbon footprint. GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services' credits are intended to complement a customer's portfolio of internal projects, providing a cost-effective tool to help achieve emission reduction goals.