Hongxingqiao Hydropower Project in Yongsheng County

Audit Analysis

A small Chinese hydropower project under CDM with a confirmed investment-test additionality and a reputable VVB, but undermined by a major discrepancy between the PDD's ex-ante estimate (125,419 tCO₂e) and the monitoring report's figure (46,522 tCO₂e), a contradiction in baseline method, eleven material findings at validation, and the absence of a VVB-verified ERR figure. The project is an avoidance-type (grid displacement) with low inherent permanence risk, but safeguards documentation (FPIC, grievance mechanism) is missing from the extracted record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The monitoring report (2022) reports a total ERR of 46,522 tCO₂e for the full 2012–2019 crediting period, while the PDD (2020) states 125,419 tCO₂e for the same period — a 63% shortfall that is never reconciled in the available documents.
• ⚠Eleven material findings were raised at validation (equipment data, IRR spreadsheet errors, missing board-meeting dates, O&M cost inconsistencies, editorial errors), with nine corrective actions required.
• ⚠The VVB-verified ERR figure is not present in the extracted record, leaving the actual credit volume unconfirmed.
• ⚠Baseline method is stated as 'project' in the monitoring report but 'jurisdictional' in the validation report — an unresolved contradiction for a grid-displacement hydro project.

Credit Vintages