GS1247 VPA 2 Improved Kitchen Regimes: Kole District Borehole Project, Uganda

Audit Analysis

A multi-VPA borehole project in Uganda displacing firewood/charcoal for water heating, with VVB-confirmed additionality and no reversal events, but undermined by extensive calculation inconsistencies, water quality failures (three boreholes removed from crediting), a weak 0% leakage justification, and contradictory ERR figures across documents that prevent a reliable claimed-versus-verified comparison.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠ERR figures are contradictory: the validation report (2025-12-18) states a claimed total of 952 tCO2e while the verification report (2025-01-07) reports 10,746 tCO2e verified; the lifetime ex-ante estimate is absent, making a pro-rata over/under-delivery check impossible
• ⚠Three boreholes (Anotocao, Te-Dam, Bua Yubu) were removed from crediting for failing national water quality standards, and 2,064 failure days were recorded across all boreholes during the monitoring period, raising operational-reliability concerns
• ⚠Leakage deduction is 0% with only a 'deemed negligible' justification, despite the project type (displacing firewood for water heating) carrying a realistic risk of households reverting to biomass fuels
• ⚠The PDD (2023) originally specified a 5% leakage deduction, which was later reduced to 0% in the 2025 verification report without a clearly documented methodological change
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the 2024 monitoring report states it was not conducted, while the 2025 validation report states it was conducted; the more recent validation report is privileged but the discrepancy is unresolved

Credit Vintages