Ukrainian steel producer Industrial Union of Donbass (ISD) has intensified activities for the sale of emission reduction units (ERUs) from the modernization of hazardous production facilities of its steelmaking subsidiaries within the framework of the Kyoto protocol.
According to the company's statement, ISD is currently implementing four projects, with the total estimated volume of emissions reductions within 2008-2012 amounting to 11 million mt of СО2.
Accordingly, the company's first project includes the technical retooling and modernization of Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Alchevsk), which involves the commissioning of new converters and a continuous casting machine manufactured by Siemens VAI, in the context of which which the company has sold 900 ERUs for €20 million. The ERUs were bought by Japanese company Sumitomo, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the governments of the Netherlands and Spain, some brokers and others. "Soon 450,000 mt of ERUs will be sold for the second and third quarters of 2009,"reads the company's statement.
ISD's second project for ending the generation of electric power from fossil fuels with the commissioning of a gas-turbine combined cycle plant at Alchevsk, is owned by joint-stock company Ecoenergy, with equipment being supplied by Japanese corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The estimated annual volume of emissions reduction is about 2 million mt of СО2.
The third project includes the implementation of a new system of heat recovery at ISD's Alchevsk Coking Plant, and involves the commissioning of a dry quenching unit produced by Giprocoke (Ukraine) and turbines for generating electric power manufactured by Siemens VAI. The estimated annual volume of emissions reduction is about 200,000 mt of СО2. By the end of the current month, ISD will complete the contract for the selling of quotas for the 2008-2009 period, amounting to 325,000 mt of СО2, to Sumitomo Corporation.
ISD's fourth project includes the reconstruction of Dneprovsky Iron and Steel Works named after F. Dzerzhinsky (DMKD) based on the construction of two continuous casting machines, which will replace the old ones, and of two ladle-furnace units, with the equipment being supplied by Siemens VAI. The estimated reduction of the emissions within the period from 2008 by 2012 is 3.5 million mt of СО2.
"We have been collaborating with the international organizations. The advantage of this collaboration is evident in the period of crisis when the commercial banks sharply decrease their activity and the international system banks go on working. Last year when there was a sharp decline in the market, it was very difficult to find buyers of early loans but we managed to achieve it jointly with IBRD," said the company in its statement.