El Platanal Hydropower Plant

Audit Analysis

El Platanal is a small-scale hydro project in Peru displacing grid electricity, with a straightforward avoidance mechanism and inherently low reversal risk. However, the project carries a significant documentation burden: seven corrective actions were raised during verification, the baseline method is contradicted between the validation and monitoring reports (jurisdictional vs. project-specific), and the leakage treatment is inconsistent across documents. The ERR figures also show a notable discrepancy between the initial validation estimate and the later monitoring report, introducing uncertainty about the robustness of the credit claim.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Seven corrective actions (CARs) were required during verification, including outdated methodology version, incorrect monitoring frequencies for two parameters, and a CO2 emission factor adjustment for specific grid units — indicating multiple methodology-compliance gaps in the original documentation.
• ⚠The baseline method is stated as 'jurisdictional' in the 2017 validation report but 'project' in the 2023 monitoring report, a fundamental contradiction that undermines confidence in the baseline calculation.
• ⚠Leakage treatment is inconsistent: the 2017 validation report deems leakage negligible, while the 2023 monitoring report records it as 'not addressed,' with a 0% deduction in both cases.
• ⚠The total ERR claimed in the 2023 monitoring report (1,318,705 tCO2e) is more than three times the figure in the 2017 validation report (413,475 tCO2e), and the verified figure matches the lower initial estimate exactly, raising questions about whether the verified number was independently recalculated.

Credit Vintages