Verra has published Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Methodology Revision VMR0011 Switch from Non-Renewable Biomass for Thermal Applications by the User, v1.0. This is a revision to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology AMS-I.E.: Switch from non-renewable biomass for thermal applications by the user.
VMR0011 incudes the following changes to the CDM methodology:
- Standardizing key parameters, like the fraction of non-renewable biomass (fNRB) and adjusting for any leakage of non-renewable woody biomass, to ensure consistency across VCS Program methodologies
- Strengthening the methodology’s integrity by introducing a discount factor to account for uncertainty if fNRB is determined using CDM TOOL30
- Establishing the leakage adjustment factor at validation
As of July 2, 2024, AMS-I.E. is excluded from use in the VCS Program as a standalone methodology, and VCS Program projects using AMS-I.E. must use VMR0011 in conjunction with the CDM methodology.
Projects using AMS-I.E. that have requested listing on the Verra Registry before July 2, 2024, must complete validation before January 2, 2025, to complete registration under this methodology.
A new VCS Program methodology, Methodology for Improved Thermal Energy Generation Units (methodology development ID #M0174), is currently under development. When released, this new methodology will replace VCS Methodology Revision VMR0006 Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switch Measures in Thermal Applications and VMR0011. Projects using VMR0011 may update to the new methodology once it is published.