BOISE, IDAHO and SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH  — International food and agribusiness leader, the J. R. Simplot Company, and leading emissions reduction project developer and offset marketer, Blue Source LLC, today announced the sale of greenhouse gas emissions offsets created from Simplot's Moses Lake, Washington, potato processing plant.  The sale helps fund Simplot's efforts in energy efficiency and other environmental projects throughout its organization. 

Simplot began a new environmental improvement project at the Moses Lake facility in 2007 with the construction of a biological "digester" that treats wastewater from the potato processing plant.  A by-product of the treatment process, bio-gas methane, is captured and combusted, primarily in the plant's boilers. Using this bio-gas reduces the consumption of natural gas.  The project is estimated to reduce 175,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent over a 10-year period, the equivalent of removing nearly 3,000 cars from the roads each year.  The project has been independently verified according to the Voluntary Carbon Standard to ensure the high quality of the offsets. 

Blue Source, which exclusively markets the offsets created by the project, has sold the majority of the offsets in a series of transactions to buyers interested in offsetting their own emissions.  One such buyer is Interface Inc., an Atlanta, Georgia based carpet manufacturer. 

"Offsets are a critical part of providing economic solutions to the challenges presented by climate change," said Buddy Hay, Assistant Vice President of Sustainable Strategies for Interface.  "We are pleased to play a role in this project, encouraging investment in emission reduction technologies while helping us achieve our own sustainability goals."

"As a leader in sustainable  agriculture, we are proud to have implemented an innovative solution that provides multiple benefits including an improvement in our environmental performance, the creation of a bio-fuel that replaces a fossil fuel, a reduction in air emissions and increased energy efficiency," said Terry Uhling, Simplot Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. 

"These transactions successfully demonstrate the financial, societal and environmental benefits of the voluntary carbon market," added Blue Source Chief Executive Officer Erik Katz.

Blue Source and Simplot have also formed a strategic alliance to assist American farmers interested in engaging the carbon economy.  The partnership was formed in October 2009 to help farmers identify and act on opportunities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable farming practices such as reduced tillage, preservation and restoration of grassland, nutrient management, and carbon capture and storage. Utilizing Agri-Data SolutionT, Blue Source and Simplot provide growers with the ability to document carbon sequestration data, facilitating revenue from carbon offset sales.