China Qinghai 42MW Jiangyuan hydropower project

Audit Analysis

A 42 MW run-of-river hydropower project in Qinghai, China, registered under CDM with a combined additionality test confirmed by the VVB. The project carries significant documentation concerns (12 material findings, 4 corrective actions) and a baseline-method contradiction between the validation report and the 2012 monitoring report, but as an avoidance-type hydro project it faces lower permanence risk. Overall a mid-range project with moderate data gaps and unresolved baseline questions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Twelve material findings in the validation report, including concerns that the project IRR and equity IRR are poor and that development would be at significant risk without CER revenue, undermining the robustness of the additionality case
• ⚠Baseline method is described as 'project-specific' in the validation report (2010) but 'jurisdictional' in the 2012 monitoring report — an unresolved contradiction that affects the credibility of the baseline
• ⚠No buffer pool is applied and no baseline reassessment date is recorded in the available documents
• ⚠Total verified ERR is not stated in the extracted record, preventing an independent cross-check of claimed versus verified credits

Credit Vintages