Guizhou Tongzihe Yuanmanguan Hydropower Project

Audit Analysis

A small-scale CDM hydropower project in China with a jurisdictional grid baseline and VVB-verified additionality, but the verification report flags significant under-delivery (actual reductions 55% below the PDD estimate), metering irregularities, and a low project IRR of 5.62%. Multiple corrective actions were required, and contradictions in the reported emission figures and crediting period reduce confidence in the data.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verification report (Dec 2012) reports actual reductions of 12,423 tCO2e are 55.44% lower than the PDD estimate of 27,880 tCO2e for the same period
• ⚠Metering irregularities: wrong meters presented to the verification team, calibration records inconsistent or missing, and meters M1/M2 installed at the project substation rather than the PDD-specified split location
• ⚠Project IRR of only 5.62% based on the approved tariff of 0.25 yuan/kWh, well below the 0.31 yuan/kWh assumed in the Initial Design Report, raising additionality concerns
• ⚠Contradiction in crediting period: PDD (Apr 2010) states 2009-12-01 to 2016-11-30, while the monitoring report (Dec 2012) states 2010-05-05 to 2017-05-04

Credit Vintages