3.5MW Manuni Hydro Electric Project in Himanchal Pradesh by Winsome Textile Industries Ltd

Audit Analysis

A 3.5 MW grid-connected hydro project under VCS AMS-I.D with a VVB-confirmed investment additionality test and a jurisdictional grid-emission-factor baseline. The project delivered roughly 63% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the 2020–2021 monitoring period, which is within plausible seasonal variability for a Himalayan hydro scheme but warrants attention. The main integrity concern is the contradictory and ultimately unaddressed leakage justification, and the absence of any stated buffer pool or permanence mechanism.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Leakage justification is contradictory: the 2022 verification report states leakage was 'not addressed' while the 2022 monitoring report claims it was 'deemed negligible'; the 0% deduction therefore lacks a robust, VVB-endorsed justification.
• ⚠Verified emissions reductions (22,246 tCO₂) for the 2020–2021 period represent only ~63% of the pro-rata ex-ante expectation (~35,238 tCO₂), indicating the project is under-delivering relative to its PDD estimate.
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage or explicit permanence mechanism is stated in any available document, leaving reversal risk unquantified despite the project being an avoidance-type credit.

Credit Vintages