Kinsman, John (Edison Electric Institute, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20004, Phone: 202-508-5711; Fax: 202-508-5150; Email: jkinsman@eei.org)

Overview of Electric Power Industry UtiliTree Carbon Company and PowerTree Carbon Company Programs

J. Kinsman *

The electric power industry has a long history of involvement with traditional forest management and tree-planting programs, through preserving forest lands for both recreational use and wildlife habitat, tree maintenance around power lines, education of homeowners on tree placement around power lines, and commercial forestry on electric company-owned lands. Many companies have also initiated forestry projects specifically to conserve energy and to offset CO₂ emissions. Since the Energy Policy Act established the "Section 1605(b)" voluntary data base system, electric power companies have reported a large number of forestry projects to address CO₂.

In 1995, the non-profit UtiliTree Carbon Company was established in 1995 by 41 utilities to sponsor a collection of projects that manage greenhouse gases, especially CO₂ . The projects consist of a diverse mix of rural tree planting, forest preservation, forest management, and research efforts at both domestic (Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oregon) and international (Belize and Malaysia) sites. The UtiliTree Carbon Company has committed slightly over $2.5 million to fund these projects.

In addition, several collaborative programs among different companies in the industry have been initiated. In 2003, 25 companies established the PowerTree Carbon Company, LLC, a voluntary consortium of 25 leading U.S. electric power companies that have committed $3 million to establish six bottomland hardwood reforestation projects in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV).

Based on our experience, we will discuss the benefits of such efforts plus key policy issues of monitoring, verification, permanence and leakage.