Understanding CDM Methodologies - SuSanA

Project Emissions
With the exceptions of geothermal and hydropower projects, the project
emissions of this project category are assumed to be zero. The following
project emission sources shall be taken into account for geothermal and
hydropower projects:
Geothermal Plants
have Project
Emissions from
Steam
Geothermal power: (i) Fugitive emissions of CO 2
and CH 4
due to release
of non-condensable gases from the produced steam, and (ii) CO 2
emissions
from operation of the geothermal power plant. 236
Hydro Reservoirs
with Power
Density of 4-10
W/m 2 have
default Emission
Factor of 90g
CO 2
/kWh
Hydropower: Fugitive emissions of CO 2
and CH 4
due to the rotting of
organic matter in the reservoir as well as carbon entering the reservoir
from upstream. Hydropower plants with power densities (installed power
generation capacity divided by the flooded surface area) of greater than 4
W/m 2 but less than or equal to 10 W/m 2 have to consider project reservoir
emissions to be 90 g CO 2
eq./kWh. Project reservoir emissions are considered
negligible for projects with power densities greater than 10 W/m 2237, 238 . No
approved methodology exists for hydropower projects with a power density
of 4 W/m2 and less.
Leakage
No Leakage The leakage of this project category is assumed to be zero. Emissions arising
from power plant construction, fuel handling, and land inundation need not
be taken into account.
Monitoring 239
Data to be
collected
before Project
Registration
Data for OM
Calculation
Ex ante: Prior to the project validation, the following parameters must be
collected for ex-ante emission reductions calculation. Plant emission factors
used for the calculation of the OM and BM emission factors should be
obtained according to the priority data sources given in ACM0002
(version 06) 240 :
• OM calculation: (i) Fuel consumption of each power plant in the PES by
fuel type, (ii) CO 2
emission coefficient of fuels used by each power plant in
the PES by fuel type, (iii) power generation of each power plant in the PES,
(iv) fuel consumption in the CES by fuel type, (v) CO 2
emission coefficient
of fuels used in the CES by fuel type, and (vi) power imports to the PES.
Additional data is required for the following OM variations:
– Dispatch data analysis: Merit order in which power plants are dispatched;
236
These provisions are found in ACM0002 (version 06) but not in AMS-I.D (version 12). Since there has not been
any application of AMS-I.D to geothermal power projects so far and AMS-I.D (version 12) does not mention
on these emission sources from geothermal power projects, it is not clear at this stage whether small-scale
geothermal projects also have to consider these project emission sources.
237
See EB23, Annex 5.
238
The power density concept is found in ACM0002 (version 06) but not in AMS-I.D (version 12). However, smallscale
hydropower projects have also applied the project reservoir emissions based on the power density criterion
since the EB23 decision. See for example the registered CDM project “831: Rialma Companhis Energétuca
S/A”, available at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/BVQI1167161981.54/view.html.
239
As per the official CDM terminology, “monitoring” refers only to data collection requirements after the project
implementation (i.e. ex-post). The ex-ante data collection requirements are included in this guide book to
provide readers with a more comprehensive picture on overall data needs.
240
These data should be obtained in the following priority: (i) acquired directly from the dispatch center or power
producers, if available, or (ii) calculated, if data on fuel type, fuel emission factor, fuel input and power output
can be obtained for each plant, or (iii) calculated as (ii), but using estimates such as default IPCC values, or (iv)
calculated, for the simple OM and the average OM, using aggregated generation and fuel consumption data, in
cases where more disaggregated data is not available (see page 5 of ACM0002 (version 06)). Examples of the
application of aggregated data are described in Box 12 and 13.
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