Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the CDM. The greater the experience of the host
country with sheer project number, methodologies,
CER issuances and rejections give the investor
a good feel for doing business in the country.
Political also stability comes into play—though
the possibility exists, is doing business in Sudan
a feasible opportunity, or is Ghana a better op-
tion? Will Venezuela seize project assets during
civil unrest?
CDM projects also require the services of a
DNA and a DOEs to drive the project through the
CDM cycle. The main responsibility of the DNA
is to assess potential CDM projects to determine
whether they will assist the host country in achiev-
ing its sustainable development goals and to issue
formal host country approval where this is the
case. In most cases DNAs also provide support to
project developers and play a part in promoting the
host country as an attractive location for potential
CDM investors. Difficulties arise if the DNA is
inefficient, slow, and inexpert when dealing with
certain project types or generally inexperienced.
This can create a backlog of projects and severely
impact the timeline of the project.
Lastly, CDM projects also require the services
of Designated Operational Entities to drive the
project through the CDM cycle. The DOEs are
private sector companies responsible for validat-
ing and subsequently requesting registration of a
proposed CDM project activity, then coordinating
with the project developer making corrections
where necessary. DOEs verify emission reductions
of a registered CDM project activity, then certify as
appropriate and request the issuance of the CERs.
In the last two years several large DOEs have
been suspended for failing to properly assess the
CDM projects under their care, validating those
that should not have been. DOEs have come under
increased scrutiny for the quality of the work, and
therefore must be carefully considered before hir-
ing them and paying the often exorbitant fees they
charge. A shift to smaller DOEs rather than the
global leaders such as DNV, Tuev Sued and SGS
and hire those with experience in the geographies
and methodologies the CDM project is in.
III. Examining the Logistics
Next, the logistics of the project, the means to
implementation need to be risk assessed and
managed. In many CDM projects, construction
has to occur, which brings with it a host of issues
in and of itself. Quantities and volumes of the
project must be in line with CER forecasts. In
the wastewater example this means the amount
of wastewater produced and the capacity of the
plant must be aligned with each other and CER
expectations. Variability in temperatures and
seasonal shifts may again impact the project
implementation and should be taken into account
for construction. Project operations and manage-
ment should be overseen by someone familiar
with the CDM project as well as the underlying
plant. Is the equipment foreign produced or lo-
cal? Can the local operators make any repairs or
solve technical problems that arise? It is likely that
from construction through project implementation
additional training will be needed for existing
staff. In terms of the project monitoring, there
are expectations of data collecting and storing,
and systems monitoring and implementation that
ideally should be done by local staff, especially if
manual measurements are needed. Quality controls
should be enacted as well.
As part of the logistics the validation of the
project through the DOE must be arranged. CER
predictions and issuance is subject to the vagaries
of the project, hence the risks must be accurately
assessed by the developer and the DOE to avoid
delays in receiving CERs. Monitoring reports are
to be produced by the DOE and signed off by the
project owner.
IV. Examining the Project Performance
One of the lynchpins of CDM success is the ac-
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