The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has issued Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) for abatement at a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Australia.
The issuance will be included in the latest monthly update of the ACCU project register published on the CER website.
The register provides the latest data about projects being run in Australia to reduce emissions or store carbon. The Moomba CCS facility is expected to capture up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2-e every year over its 25-year crediting period. This is the largest single ACCU issuance since the scheme began in 2012, and the first ACCUs issued under the carbon capture and storage method.
CCS has sometimes been controversial, particularly where projects have not met expected sequestration levels. In the case of the Moomba facility, sequestration levels have met its initial project expectations during commissioning.
The Chair of the CER, David Parker, said the issuance of ACCUs for carbon capture and storage is a significant development.
‘These ACCUs represent the capture of greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been released to the atmosphere and instead are permanently stored deep underground.
‘Carbon capture and storage is an opportunity to sequester carbon at scale, helping position Australia as a leader in climate action. CCS also demonstrates the effectiveness of Australia’s carbon market framework to create incentives and deliver significant industrial decarbonisation outcomes.’
The Moomba facility is covered under the Safeguard Mechanism, which is driving emissions reductions across Australia’s industry and resource sectors.
‘Add back’ provisions under the Safeguard Mechanism ensure that any ACCUs issued to the project are added to the safeguard facility’s net emissions number in the year they were issued for the purpose of Safeguard compliance. This means that there is no double counting of carbon abatement ensuring the integrity of emissions accounting. As baselines decline under the Safeguard, it is expected that these ACCUs will be progressively used for compliance purposes.
Each application for ACCU issuance is rigorously assessed in accordance with the requirements of the legislation including the applicable method requirements, which include a reasonable assurance audit by an independent greenhouse and energy auditor. In the case of CCS projects, this requires direct measurement of CO2 pumped and captured underground.
Further details of ACCUs issued will be available on the next update of the project register.
Contact: media@cleanenergyregulator.gov.au or 02 6159 3448