7 MW Bundled Hydro power project at Himachal Pradesh of Raajratna Energy Holdings Pvt. Ltd

Audit Analysis

This 7 MW CDM hydro project in Himachal Pradesh has a VVB-confirmed investment additionality test and a jurisdictional grid baseline, but is severely undermined by 23 material findings, 23 corrective actions, a 3.5× discrepancy between the PDD's lifetime ERR claim (19,693 tCO₂) and the monitoring report's figure (69,044 tCO₂), and an uncertain 2 MW component whose implementation was questioned during validation. The project's integrity and documentation quality are significantly below acceptable thresholds.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The monitoring report reports 69,044 tCO₂ for the 2018–2020 period while the PDD claims only 19,693 tCO₂ over the full 10-year crediting period — a 3.5× discrepancy that cannot be reconciled without further evidence
• ⚠The 2 MW Gehra sub-project's implementation was found to be uncertain during validation interviews, yet it is included in the CDM project boundary
• ⚠The methodology version referenced in the PDD was flagged as no longer valid at the time of review
• ⚠The investment analysis underlying the additionality claim lacks a traceable IRR spreadsheet, a justified benchmark, and uses an incorrect tariff (2.5 vs. actual 2.95 INR/kWh)
• ⚠23 material findings and 23 corrective actions were raised, indicating systemic deficiencies in the PDD and validation process

Credit Vintages