Advanced Refrigeration US49 - ARS 003

Audit Analysis

The Advanced Refrigeration US49 project has VVB-confirmed additionality and no carbon-stock reversal risk, but is undermined by eleven material findings—including three that directly distort emission calculations (uniform charge size, incorrect R-290 GWP, wrong baseline charge sizes)—and a contradictory leakage justification. The project delivered roughly 371% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation in the first three years of a twelve-year crediting period, raising over-crediting concerns that are compounded by the calculation errors flagged by the VVB.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Three material findings directly affect emission-quantification accuracy: a uniform 1.2 kg charge size applied to all refrigeration systems instead of equipment-specific values, an R-290 GWP inconsistent with the methodology table, and incorrect or missing baseline default charge sizes (verification report, 2021-04-11).
• ⚠Leakage justification is contradictory: the validation report (2021-04-06) states leakage was 'not addressed,' while the PDD (2021-02) claims it was 'deemed negligible,' yet the deduction is 0% with no quantified analysis.
• ⚠The project delivered 1,000,000 tCO₂e in a 3-year monitoring window against a pro-rata ex-ante expectation of only ~269,000 tCO₂e (371% of expectation), a concentration that, combined with the calculation errors, raises over-crediting risk.
• ⚠SSR 7 (Equipment Disposal) was incorrectly excluded from the project boundary, potentially omitting a source of emissions or reductions (verification report).

Credit Vintages