Gansu Zhuoni Niuzi 30MW Hydropower Project

Audit Analysis

A 30 MW CDM hydropower project in China with a jurisdictional baseline reassessed in 2023 and a named VVB (CTI Certification). The project carries two procedural material findings and a significant seven-fold discrepancy between the PDD and validation report emission reduction figures, while additionality test details, leakage quantification, and CORSIA/CCP status are absent from the extracted record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Seven-fold discrepancy in total emission reductions: the PDD (May 2023) states 453,670 tCO₂e while the validation report (June 2023) validates only 64,810 tCO₂e — the VVB-validated figure is privileged, but the magnitude of the gap warrants scrutiny of the PDD's original assumptions.
• ⚠Leakage is set at 0 % with a justification of merely 'deemed negligible' — no quantitative assessment or sector-specific analysis is provided for a 30 MW generation project that displaces grid electricity.
• ⚠Two material findings (FARs) were raised by the VVB concerning the application of GWP values adopted by the CMP and the need to update the PDD in line with CMP guidance, indicating the project documentation was not fully aligned with current rules at validation time.
• ⚠Additionality test type and VVB confirmation are not captured in the extracted record, leaving the core CDM additionality requirement unverified in the available data.

Credit Vintages