Solar Water Pumps for salt farmers of Kutch

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard solar water pump project for salt farmers in Kutch, India, with VVB-verified additionality and a recently reassessed project-specific baseline. The project over-delivers relative to its ex-ante estimate, but the verification report identified 14 material findings and 27 corrective actions, primarily around monitoring report transparency, calculation methodology, and administrative gaps. The absence of a buffer pool, 0% leakage deduction, and lack of FPIC temper the otherwise sound design.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠27 corrective actions required by the VVB, including missing sampling details, incorrect diesel consumption parameter used in savings calculation, and emission reductions not adjusted for commissioning dates of individual systems
• ⚠A 10.5-month gap (01/11/2022–20/09/2023) with zero ERs credited due to delayed crediting period renewal submission to Gold Standard
• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% justified as 'quantified' in the 2024 verification report, yet the earlier 2023 verification report indicated leakage was 'not addressed' — the quantification basis is not transparent
• ⚠FPIC was not conducted despite the project serving a vulnerable salt-farming community in Kutch

Credit Vintages