Houpayan Hydropower Project in Qiubei County Yunnan Province, China

Audit Analysis

A small hydro CDM project (ACM0002 v7) with VVB-confirmed additionality and inherently low permanence risk, but weakened by a project-specific baseline, a 0% leakage deduction with no stated justification in the most recent monitoring report, and five inter-document contradictions including a 31% discrepancy in lifetime ERR figures. Key verification data (verified ERR, FNRB, usage monitoring method) are absent from the extracted record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Lifetime ERR differs by 31% between the 2012 monitoring report (75,189 tCO2e) and the 2013 monitoring report (98,743 tCO2e), with no documented explanation for the revision
• ⚠Leakage justification is recorded as 'not addressed' in the most recent monitoring report (Jan 2013), contradicting the earlier 2011 report which stated it was quantified
• ⚠Baseline method is described as 'jurisdictional' in the PDD but 'project-specific' in the 2013 monitoring report, creating ambiguity about the baseline construction
• ⚠Total verified ERR, FNRB value, and usage monitoring method are all absent from the extracted record, preventing independent verification of claimed reductions

Credit Vintages