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AEP to Support Largest Agricultural Carbon
Offset Program in U.S
Program Will Capture and Destroy Methane from 200 Farms
COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 14, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall
American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) today announced an agreement with an affiliate of Environmental Credit Corp. (ECC) to purchase approximately 4.6 million carbon credits between 2010 and 2017 generated from capturing methane on livestock farms. (One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide reduction.) The agreement is part of the first large-scale livestock methane offset program established in the United States that will capture and destroy methane from approximately 400,000 head of livestock on as many as 200 U.S. farms. Cost of the credits is not being disclosed due to confidentiality agreements. "Methane capture programs from livestock farms offer significant benefits. Not only do they reduce the impact of a highly potent greenhouse gas, but they also reduce odor and pest issues and provide a new source of income for farmers who often struggle with razor-thin margins. A farm with 2,000 head of livestock could receive $105,000 or more during the 10-year agreement. Because we see the issues that farmers face in our 11-state service area, we've also required that more than half of the credits that we purchase through this agreement come from projects on farms located within those 11 states." "By sponsoring the reduction of emissions on farms throughout the country, AEP can make a significant, measurable difference in overall greenhouse gas emissions quickly and efficiently, while continuing its work on internal reduction projects," said Ed Heslop, chief executive officer of ECC. "This approach has implications that reach far beyond the 11 states served by AEP. This partnership between ECC and AEP reflects ECC's ongoing pledge to foster projects that mitigate greenhouse gases, and because of AEP's commitment to this project, ECC is investing more than $25 million in services and materials to bring the 200 farms online with emission reduction. This has the added benefit of bringing revenue to the farms very early in the project." Methane from livestock manure accounts for 6.6 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) in trapping heat in the atmosphere and is released into the air through common manure-handling practices. Through the methane-capture program, ECC will install covers on manure storage lagoons to capture and flare (burn off) methane, converting it to CO2, a much less-potent greenhouse gas. Capturing and flaring the methane from manure lagoons significantly reduces the greenhouse gases, as well as odors, emitted from livestock farms. It also helps prevent issues with pests, rainfall and dust. According to the terms of the agreement, AEP will purchase up to 600,000 carbon credits per year between 2010 and 2017 at a fixed price from ECC. ECC will work with farmers to design and provide lagoon cover systems, including gas meters and flares, at no cost to participating farmers. ECC also will provide data monitoring, reporting, independent verification, certification and registration of the carbon credits with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first and North America's only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction and trading program. AEP is a founding member of CCX. AEP has led the U.S. electric utility industry in taking action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. AEP was the first and largest U.S. utility to join CCX and, as a member, committed to gradually reduce, avoid or offset its greenhouse gas emissions to 6 percent below the average of its 1998 to 2001 emission levels by 2010. Through this commitment, AEP will reduce or offset approximately 46 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade. AEP is achieving its CCX commitment through a broad portfolio of actions, including power plant efficiency improvements, renewable generation such as wind and biomass co-firing, off-system greenhouse gas reduction projects, reforestation projects and the potential purchase of emission credits through CCX. Earlier this year, AEP announced an expanded strategy to capture, reduce, avoid or offset 5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year post 2010, including plans to add 1,000 megawatts of nameplate-rated wind capacity and to install carbon capture on two existing coal-fired power plants, the first commercial use of technologies to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from existing plants. Technologies being advanced by AEP's plan include both post- combustion and pre-combustion solutions to carbon dioxide emissions from coal- fired generation. The company also is continuing existing -- and exploring new -- initiatives for both demand-side and supply-side efficiency. Environmental Credit Corp. is a leading supplier of environmental credits to global financial markets. By developing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, waste management, and other industries, ECC creates carbon credits for sale into rapidly-growing emissions trading markets in the United States and Europe. ECC is a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) as a credit aggregator and offset provider, and markets carbon credits through the CCX as well as directly to power companies, industrial greenhouse gas emitters, and to state and privately managed funds that specialize in carbon credits and other environmental benefits. American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP's transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. This report made by AEP and its Registrant Subsidiaries contains forward- looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although AEP and each of its Registrant Subsidiaries believe that their expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such statements may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: electric load and customer growth; weather conditions, including storms; available sources and costs of, and transportation for, fuels and the creditworthiness of fuel suppliers and transporters; availability of generating capacity and the performance of AEP's generating plants; AEP's ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded costs in connection with deregulation; AEP's ability to recover increases in fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates; AEP's ability to build or acquire generating capacity when needed at acceptable prices and terms and to recover those costs through applicable rate cases or competitive rates; new legislation, litigation and government regulation including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon, soot or particulate matter and other substances; timing and resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery for new investments, transmission service and environmental compliance); resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp. and related matters); AEP's ability to constrain operation and maintenance costs; the economic climate and growth in AEP's service territory and changes in market demand and demographic patterns; inflationary and interest rate trends; AEP's ability to develop and execute a strategy based on a view regarding prices of electricity, natural gas and other energy-related commodities; changes in the creditworthiness of the counterparties with whom AEP has contractual arrangements, including participants in the energy trading market; actions of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including the potential for new legislation or regulation in Ohio and/or Virginia and membership in and integration into regional transmission organizations; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP's pension and other postretirement benefit plans; prices for power that AEP generates and sell at wholesale; changes in technology, particularly with respect to new, developing or alternative sources of generation; other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic events. 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