300MW Hydropower Project By JHPL

Audit Analysis

The 300 MW JHPL hydropower project is a registered VCS avoidance credit with VVB-confirmed additionality and no material findings, but the verification report (Nov 2024) required 17 corrective actions including meters not found at site, inconsistent emission factors, and calculation errors in project emissions. The project-specific baseline, unaddressed leakage justification, and absence of a buffer pool or permanence mechanism introduce moderate integrity and claim-safety risks. Multiple contradictions across verification reports (baseline method, grid emission factor, safeguards status) further reduce confidence in the data record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Meters reported in the monitoring report were not found installed at the site during the 2024 verification, raising serious MRV integrity concerns
• ⚠17 corrective actions were required in the 2024 verification, including missing calibration certificates, PPAs, commissioning certificates, JMRs, and invoices for the full monitoring period
• ⚠Leakage deduction is 0% with the justification recorded as 'not addressed' in the 2024 verification report, a regression from the 2023 report which stated 'deemed negligible'
• ⚠Grid emission factor increased from 0.805 (2016 validation) to 0.9273 (2024 monitoring), a 15% increase that inflates baseline emissions and credit volume
• ⚠No buffer pool or permanence mechanism is documented for the 10-year crediting period, and reversal events are not addressed

Credit Vintages