*Zengamina Mini Hydro Scheme- Zambia
GS-1696 ↗ · current registry ID: GS355
#28of 33 in Zambia#1484of 1801 in Gold Standard (GS)
Audit Analysis
The Zengamina Mini Hydro Scheme is a small community-scale hydro project under Gold Standard with reasonable social safeguards (FPIC, grievance mechanism, benefit sharing) but significant MRV and data-reliability concerns. Multiple material findings—including 25% of power usage attributed to non-metered accounts, a faulty current transformer that reduced recorded output by one-third, and the project failing to meet its PDD targets due to funding shortfalls—undermine confidence in the verified emission reductions. Contradictions in the grid emission factor (a factor-of-10 discrepancy) and in the claimed versus verified ERR figures further weaken the claim.
Red Flags
- 25% of power usage attributed to non-metered accounts, creating a material gap in the MRV chain (verification report, 2013)
- Grid emission factor contradicts itself by a factor of 10 across two monitoring reports (0.08 vs 0.8), which would dramatically alter the credit calculation
- Project failed to meet PDD targets due to lack of funding, and a faulty current transformer reduced recorded MWh by one-third (verification report, 2013)
- Permanence / reversal risk explicitly not addressed in the extracted record, and no buffer pool is documented
- Crediting-period end date is inconsistent between the PDD (2022-12-31) and the verification report (no end date stated)
Credit Vintages Exhausted
| Issued | Retired | Available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 87 | 87 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 233 | 233 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 314 | 314 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 781 | 781 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 944 | 944 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 1,122 | 1,122 | 0 | |
| Total | 3,481 | 3,481 | 0 |
Risk Indicators
Combined test used; VVB confirmation not confirmed in extracted record
Not addressed in record
0% deduction with only 'deemed negligible' justification
Project-specific baseline from 2007 PDD; no reassessment documented
FPIC, grievance mechanism, and benefit sharing all documented
CORSIA and CCP status both not stated in available documents
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