Biomass based power project in Punjab, India

Audit Analysis

A CDM biomass power project in Punjab, India with VVB-confirmed additionality but significant methodological concerns: seven material findings in the monitoring report, a 7-fold discrepancy between the ex-ante and verified emission reduction figures on a pro-rata basis, and contradictory baseline and leakage characterisations across documents. The project's credit claims carry elevated over-crediting risk until these discrepancies are resolved.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Seven material findings (CARs) in the 2022 monitoring report, including missing baseline validity demonstration, emissions formulas inconsistent with the methodology, and missing JMRs/logbooks
• ⚠Verified ERR of 171,019 tCO2e for the 3.5-year monitoring period is approximately 7× the pro-rata expectation of ~23,911 tCO2e derived from the validation report's ex-ante estimate of 47,821 tCO2e over the 7-year crediting period
• ⚠Baseline method is contradictory: the validation report (2020) describes a jurisdictional baseline while the monitoring report (2022) describes a project-specific baseline
• ⚠0% leakage deduction is justified as 'quantified' in the monitoring report but 'deemed negligible' in the validation report, with no supporting calculation found in the extracted record
• ⚠Feedstock sustainability, carbon content testing, and usage monitoring method are all absent from the available documents

Credit Vintages