Hainan Chengpo Hydropower Project

Audit Analysis

The Hainan Chengpo small hydro project (CDM-3254) has a solid additionality assessment confirmed by DNV via an investment test, and the 0% leakage deduction is reasonable for a grid-connected hydro avoidance project. However, four contradictions across documents — particularly the baseline method (project vs. jurisdictional) and the crediting period dates — introduce meaningful uncertainty, and the 10 corrective action requests during validation signal quality-control issues. The project is a low-inherent-risk avoidance type, but the documentation gaps and inconsistencies prevent a higher confidence rating.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Baseline method is stated as 'project-specific' in the monitoring report but 'jurisdictional' in the PDD — a fundamental inconsistency that affects the validity of the baseline calculation
• ⚠Crediting period differs between the validation report (2010–2016) and the monitoring report (2011–2017), creating ambiguity about the exact project lifetime and pro-rata ERR expectations
• ⚠Ten corrective action requests and five clarification requests were raised during validation, indicating notable quality issues in the original project documentation
• ⚠Grid emission factor is from 2006 (0.82335 tCO₂/MWh) and no updated or reassessed value is found in the available documents

Credit Vintages