Cote small-scale hydropower plant

Audit Analysis

A small-scale hydropower project in Costa Rica displacing grid electricity, with a straightforward additionality case but significant data-quality concerns. Eight material findings, nine corrective actions, and eight inter-document contradictions (including a disputed crediting-period start date and a baseline-method discrepancy) undermine confidence in the underlying calculations. The grid emission factor dates from 2008 yet was applied to a 2013–2017 monitoring window, creating a material over-crediting risk that is not offset by any verified ERR figure in the available record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Grid emission factor of 0.2022 tCO₂/MWh is from 2008 but applied to the 2013–2017 monitoring period; Costa Rica's grid mix has shifted materially in that interval, so the displacement benefit is likely overstated.
• ⚠Eight material findings were logged during validation/verification, including an incorrect grid-EF calculation, missing fossil-fuel monitoring parameters, and inconsistent power-meter details, all requiring corrective action.
• ⚠Crediting-period start date is contradictory: the 2018 monitoring report states 2003-04-01 while the 2012 validation report states 2010-04-01, a seven-year discrepancy that affects the pro-rata ERR expectation.
• ⚠Baseline method is described as 'project-specific' in the 2018 monitoring report but 'jurisdictional' in the 2012 PDD, creating ambiguity about which baseline was actually applied.
• ⚠No verified ERR figure was found in any available document, preventing any independent cross-check of the 11,813 tCO₂ claimed.

Credit Vintages