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Press Release (Feb 15,2007)
Commencement of the Operation of a Biogas CDM Project in Thailand -- Purchase of approximately 564,000 tons of carbon credits in six years from recovering methane from a tapioca starch factory --
                                                      February 15, 2007
                                              Toyota Tsusho Corporation
                                     Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Head Office: Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, President: 
Junzo Shimizu) and Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (Head Office: 
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Tsunehisa Katsumata, hereinafter referred 
to as "TEPCO") have been constructing a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)[Note 1] 
project facilities to recover methane from a tapioca starch factory in 
Kalasin Province, northeastern part of Thailand, through Cassava Waste 
To Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CWTE"), an operating 
company, invested by Toyota Tsusho Corporation, TEPCO and Clean Energy 
Development Co. (Thailand) Ltd. We hereby report that the construction 
work has been completed and operation is commenced today. 

Cassava[Note 2], a raw material used in tapioca starch production, is 
widely grown in Thailand, where it is the second most important 
agricultural product. Tapioca starch factories produce organic wastewater 
that releases methane[Note 3] which has been released to the atmosphere 
up to now with no legal restrictions on these emissions.

In this project, the CWTE establishes methane recovery equipments, 
digesters and other facilities. Significant reduction in greenhouse gas 
emission[Note 4] is achieved by recovering methane and selling it back to 
the factory as biofuel which is burned in a boiler and by reducing the 
heavy oil usage in the factory. 

Toyota Tsusho Corporation and TEPCO have reached agreement with the CWTE 
to purchase carbon credits from this project respectively. Until December 
2012, the purchase volume is expected to be approximately 564,000 tons 
(CO2 equivalent) (338,000 tons for Toyota Tsusho Corporation and 226,000 
tons for TEPCO)[Note 5].

Toyota Tsusho Corporation and TEPCO have previously taken proactive 
initiatives to reduce greenhouse gases in Japan and abroad through 
carbon credit purchases and other means. This project marks as the 
companies´ first direct investment and participation in a CDM project 
operator. 

Toyota Tsusho Corporation considers the environment as one of its main 
fields of endeavor and believes that promoting its environmental businesses 
will contribute to building a sustainable society. The company looks 
forward to greater involvement in recycling and in products designed to 
reduce global warming and protect the environment. 

Taking steps to help prevent global warming has become one of the most 
important priorities in TEPCO´s management. As such, TEPCO continues 
to promote global warming countermeasures in Japan and abroad. These 
include electricity supply-side and demand-side initiatives in Japan 
and the purchase of carbon credits made available through overseas project 
cooperation including CDM.

[Note 1] Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
A system under which industrialized nations or transitional economy nations 
perform projects to reduce emissions (or increase carbon absorption) of 
greenhouse gases in industrializing nations, and the resulting emissions 
reductions are acquired by the industrialized nation or the transitional 
economy nation in the form of carbon credits. The CDM is one of the three 
Kyoto Mechanisms, which also include Joint Implementation (JI), in which 
carbon credits are acquired from projects to reduce emissions (or increase 
carbon absorption) of greenhouse gases in industrialized nations or 
transitional economy nations, and Emissions Trading (ET), in which 
industrialized nations or transitional economy nations trade emissions 
credits under their respective emissions caps. The Kyoto Mechanisms are 
economic mechanisms established in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. They are 
intended to add flexibility for making greenhouse gas reductions.

[Note 2] Cassava
Cassava
A perennial shrub native to Latin America. It grows well in unhealthy land and acidic soils and is widely cultivated in Thailand. Cassava tolerates dry conditions. It is easy to propagate in tropical climates, needing only to have a stem planted in the soil. The long, thin root grows fleshy to the length of 30 - 80cm. High-quality tapioca starch is made by mashing the root and allowing it to precipitate. [Note 3] Methane (CH4) Methane is one of the greenhouse gased emitted during fermentation of organic wastewater released in the process of making tapioca starch from cassava. [Note 4] Significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission Methane has 21 times the greenhouse effect of CO2, and thus burning methane and decomposing it into CO2 and water can greatly reduce greenhouse effect. [Note 5] Until December 2012, the purchase volume is expected to be approximately 564,000 tons (CO2 equivalent) (338,000 tons for Toyota Tsusho Corporation and 226,000 tons for TEPCO). These numbers are changed from previous anouncement due to re-calculation of the generated biogas volume based on the latest data. The purchase volume presented before (February 8, 2006) was approximately 600,000 tons (CO2 equivalent) (360,000 tons for Toyota Tsusho Corporation, 240,000 tons for TEPCO) in the six years from December 2006 to December 2012.
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