Gansu Yongdeng Longlin Hydro Power Project

Audit Analysis

A small hydro power project in Gansu, China, verified under VCS methodology AMS-I.D. with confirmed investment additionality and no material findings. The project is a straightforward renewable energy avoidance credit with appropriate monitoring via smart meters, but is undermined by numerous inter-document contradictions, a low extraction confidence rating, and a significant grid emission factor discrepancy between reporting periods.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Grid emission factor dropped from 0.84125 (2023 verification report) to 0.553575 (2025 monitoring report), a 34% reduction that materially affects credit quantity and warrants explanation of the data source change
• ⚠Baseline method is reported as 'project' in the 2023 verification report but 'jurisdictional' in the 2025 monitoring report — an unresolved methodological inconsistency
• ⚠Ten contradictions identified across documents, including FPIC, grievance mechanism, safeguards, and benefit-sharing all flipping from false (2022) to true (2025), suggesting earlier documentation gaps were retroactively resolved
• ⚠Seven corrective actions were required in the 2025 verification, including revision of the crediting period, methodology designation, and baseline emission calculations
• ⚠Minimum extraction confidence rated 'low', indicating at least one key document was poorly readable or incomplete

Credit Vintages