Post Date: Apr 08, 2022
How do we calculate carbon avoided?
Investing in solar projects through renewables.org is a direct investment in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Accelerating levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have become a significant international challenge. This results in global warming with adverse environmental and health effects. A shift towards a low-carbon economy is imperative, now more than ever. Our solar projects help offset carbon. This is by enabling energy-intensive commercial and industrial (C&I) customers to change their power source.
As per India Energy Outlook, 2021 of the IEA, India is the third largest global emitter of CO2. Approximately 725 grams (2020 value) of CO2 is released per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated in the Indian Power Sector.1 Data from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR) states that on average, an American emits 13.68 tons of CO2 per annum (values from 2020).
For every USD 100 invested with renewables.org, a solar plant will generate approximately 2,393 kWh of clean electricity over 10 years. This translates to:
2,393 kWh x 725 grams of CO2 = 1,734,925 grams of CO2 avoided OR 1.7 tons of CO2 avoided.
This means for every USD 100 invested, approximately 12.6% of an American’s per capita annual CO2 emission will have been offset.
The maths is currently based on the publicly available data as of Mar-28-2022. This data may be updated and changed from time to time.
Investing with renewables.org is a great way to be empowered to take full responsibility for your unavoidable carbon pollution and contribute towards addressing climate change.
1 The solar projects we fund are spread across India, UAE, and East Africa. To showcase the potential CO2 avoided, India-specific CO2 emission values have been considered, as the CO2 emission values in developing nations are comparable.