Chile: Hornitos Hydroelectric Project

Audit Analysis

The Hornitos Hydroelectric Project is a CDM-registered hydro avoidance project with a combined additionality test and a grid-emission-factor baseline, but the extracted record contains several material documentation findings and unresolved contradictions on baseline method and leakage treatment. The project delivered roughly 68% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the monitored period, indicating conservative crediting, yet the absence of a verified ERR figure and unconfirmed VVB additionality sign-off limit confidence in the overall integrity picture.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Nine material findings in the monitoring report (2021) include missing annual CER estimates, missing equipment lifetime, and insufficient baseline revalidation discussion, though no corrective actions were formally required.
• ⚠Baseline method is contradictory: the PDD (2015) describes a jurisdictional baseline while the monitoring report (2021) labels it project-specific, creating ambiguity about the actual reference case.
• ⚠FPIC was not conducted and no grievance mechanism is documented, leaving a gap in social safeguards for a project operating in Chile.
• ⚠The available monitoring report covers only 2015-07-09 to 2018-12-31, leaving approximately 3.5 years of the 7-year crediting period (ending 2022-07-08) without a corresponding monitoring document in the extracted record.

Credit Vintages