Pichacay Landfill Gas Renewable Energy Project
#1330of 1935 in Renewable energy#924of 1339 in Verra (VCS)#21of 34 in AMS-III.G
Audit Analysis
The Pichacay Landfill Gas project is a VCS-registered renewable energy project in Ecuador with VVB-confirmed additionality and documented safeguards, but its integrity is undermined by 14 corrective actions covering formula errors, missing GWP values, and a project-emissions discrepancy. The verified ERR (24,801 tCO₂e) represents only ~75% of the claimed figure (33,233 tCO₂e) for the 2024 monitoring period, and the leakage treatment (0% deduction) is inconsistently justified across documents. Overall, the project is functional but carries moderate data-quality and calculation-robustness risks.
Red Flags
- 14 corrective actions in the verification report include a formula discrepancy for the methane fraction (FCH4,PJ,y), a missing GWP value for methane, and a project-emissions mismatch for 2020 — all of which affect the ERR calculation
- Leakage justification is contradictory: the 2019 verification report states leakage was 'not addressed' while the 2025 monitoring report claims it was 'deemed negligible', with a 0% deduction in both cases
- Verified ERR (24,801 tCO₂e) is only ~75% of the claimed ERR (33,233 tCO₂e) for the 2024 monitoring period, indicating a material gap between project claims and VVB-verified reductions
- Missing ex-ante/ex-post emission reduction comparison (CAR 12) prevents independent verification that the project is delivering within its original estimates
Credit Vintages
| Issued | Retired | Available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 13,377 | 13,377 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 24,882 | 19,579 | 5,303 | |
| 2019 | 18,138 | 0 | 18,138 | |
| 2020 | 24,852 | 12,235 | 12,617 | |
| 2021 | 11,444 | 11,444 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 24,801 | 24,801 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 33,233 | 8,233 | 25,000 | |
| Total | 150,727 | 89,669 | 61,058 |
Risk Indicators
VVB-confirmed but test type not stated
mixed evidence / unresolved risk
0% deduction, contradictory justification
Project-specific, modeled, no reassessment date
FPIC, grievance mechanism, safeguards documented
CORSIA and CCP status not stated
Where to buy
Marketplaces
+ Know where to buy this?
Listing multiple projects? Send us a CSV at [email protected].
⚑ Dispute this rating
Are you the project owner?
Metadata correction (free)
Name, country, marketplace or links incorrect? Let us know.
Does not modify the score.
[email protected] →Pipeline re-run with new documents
Have updated documentation not yet included? You can request a new run of the pipeline with the new inputs.
Submit Documents →Share this rating
