Shanghe Geothermal Space Heating Project

Audit Analysis

The Shanghe Geothermal Space Heating Project is a VCS-registered avoidance project (geothermal heating replacing fossil-fuel boilers) with VVB-confirmed additionality and low inherent permanence risk. However, the project delivered only about 3% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the elapsed monitoring period, the verification report identified 17 material findings and 10 corrective actions, and several key parameters (buffer pool, usage monitoring method, CORSIA/CCP status) are not stated in the available documents.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified emission reductions (3,205 tCO₂e) represent only ~2.9% of the pro-rata ex-ante expectation (~109,381 tCO₂e) for the 2.17-year monitoring period, indicating the initial estimate was roughly 34× too high; the verification report confirms actual heating area was significantly lower than design value.
• ⚠17 material findings and 10 corrective actions were identified in the verification report, including incorrect calculation of Δtj,d,y for Project B, use of 2006 IPCC Guidelines instead of the required 2019 Refinement, and multiple data inconsistencies between the project description, monitoring report, and verification report.
• ⚠Buffer pool percentage is not stated in any available document, leaving the permanence safeguard mechanism unquantified.
• ⚠Benefit-sharing description is contradictory: the validation report (2023) states it is described, while the more recent verification report (2024) states it is not.

Credit Vintages

No issuances recorded on the registry.