Installing heat pumps in agricultural greenhouses or solar panels in buildings and public facilities will now qualify for carbon credits. The Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment announced on June 2 that it held the 69th Carbon Emission Certification Committee meeting, where it reviewed and approved projects related to heat pumps, solar energy systems, and fuel conversion.
External projects refer to initiatives that reduce, absorb, or eliminate greenhouse gases from emission facilities or activities outside of companies participating in the carbon trading system. Certified reductions from these projects can be utilized in the carbon credit market.
The feasibility assessment included six heat pump projects aimed at improving heating energy efficiency in agricultural greenhouses and four solar panel installation projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings and public facilities. Additionally, a total of 20 reduction projects, including fuel conversion, vegetation restoration, sulfur hexafluoride recovery, high-efficiency compressor replacement, and biomass fuel usage, were approved, with an expected reduction of 73,433 tons of greenhouse gases.
Notably, many of the approved projects focus on heat pumps in the agricultural sector, which is currently facing the dual challenges of carbon neutrality policies and rising energy costs. For farmers in facility horticulture, heating expenses constitute a significant portion of production costs, making the expansion of heat pump adoption beneficial not only for reducing greenhouse gases but also for easing financial burdens.
This transition is expected to shift fossil fuel-based heating methods in agricultural greenhouses to heat pumps utilizing air and geothermal energy. Furthermore, the approval of four solar panel projects is anticipated to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in everyday life.
For existing projects, a total of 32,930.6 tons of greenhouse gas reductions were certified across 13 initiatives, including heat pumps, landfill gas incineration, heating method conversions, fuel conversions, and the decomposition of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. The certified reductions can later be converted into offset credits for use in the carbon trading system.
Additionally, two new methodologies were approved: one for recovering and decomposing halogenated fire extinguishing agents generated during the disposal of extinguishing systems, and another for reducing energy consumption through the application of a recirculating aquaculture system.
Lee Kyung-soo, Director of Climate Energy Policy at the Ministry of Climate, stated, "Heat pumps and solar energy systems are representative greenhouse gas reduction measures that can be directly applied in the lives of citizens and industries. We will actively discover methodologies and projects to create tangible reduction results across various sectors through external projects."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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