Horcones biomass power plant expansion project

Audit Analysis

The Horcones biomass power plant expansion project (CDM-4052) presents significant data reliability concerns, including a seven-fold discrepancy in claimed emissions reductions between the validation and monitoring reports, four corrective action requests related to baseline and grid emission factor errors, and an additionality barrier test that was not confirmed by the VVB. While the project uses a standard CDM methodology (ACM0006 v14.0) and a recognized VVB (ERM), the combination of unresolved material findings, missing monitoring data, and a 0% leakage deduction with only a generic 'quantified' justification limits confidence in the credit claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Seven-fold discrepancy in total ERR between the validation report (51,956 tCO2e) and the monitoring report (363,692 tCO2e) — a critical data reliability issue
• ⚠Additionality barrier test was not verified by the VVB, undermining the core additionality claim
• ⚠Four corrective action requests (CARs) covering grid emission factor calculation errors, missing NCV measurement methods, and PDD inconsistencies remain in the record
• ⚠0% leakage deduction with only a generic 'quantified' justification and no supporting quantification visible in the extracted record

Credit Vintages