65MW Dagushan hydropower Project in China

Audit Analysis

The 65 MW Dagushan hydropower project is a CDM generation project with a jurisdictional baseline and a reputable VVB (TÜV NORD CERT), but the extracted record contains four material contradictions between the validation report and an undated appendix, including a factor-of-two discrepancy in the grid emission factor. No monitoring-report data, FNRB values, or additionality test details were found in the available documents, and two material findings (one an EF calculation error) required corrective action. The project's inherent low permanence risk as a hydro generation project partially offsets these documentation and baseline uncertainties.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Grid emission factor differs by a factor of two between the validation report (0.4735) and an undated appendix (0.9457), creating material uncertainty in the baseline and therefore in the 646,821 tCO₂e lifetime claim.
• ⚠The validation report records a material finding that Step 1 of the EFgrid,CM,y calculation was incorrect regarding electricity imported to NWPG (CAR 2), indicating the baseline was initially miscalculated.
• ⚠No monitoring-report data (verified ERR, FNRB, usage monitoring) was found in the extracted record despite the project having operated since 2017.
• ⚠Additionality test type and VVB confirmation are not stated in the available documents, leaving the additionality assessment unverifiable from the extracted record.

Credit Vintages