AES buys landfill gas project in El Salvador

Arlington, Va.-based power company AES (NYSE: AES) announced that it has acquired a landfill gas to energy project in Nejapa, El Salvador.

AES did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

The company said its AES Nejapa Gas subsidiary would own and operate the planned 25 megawatt gas gathering system at the landfill site.

"The purchase of the Nejapa Landfill Project further demonstrates AES's global commitment to reducing greenhouse gases," said Bill Lyons, president of AES Climate Solutions.

"This transaction, one of the first acquisitions involving a Clean Development Mechanism project since the start of the Kyoto process, will help reduce emissions while providing power to the growing El Salvador market."

The company said it would install and operate energy generation equipment to provide renewable energy from the capture and combustion of methane.

AES expects the project to generate an average of 400,000 Certified Emissions Reductions annually over the next 20 years.

The company said it started its Climate Solutions business in 2005 and is building a portfolio of projects to lower greenhouse gas emissions by over 34 million tonnes each year by the end of 2012.

AES said its current global pipeline includes projects that could produce up to 19 million Certified Emissions Reductions annually from renewable energy generation, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from third party sources — primarily methane — and energy efficiency initiatives.