Verra has opened a public consultation on a revision (methodology development ID #M0403) to VM0052 Accelerated Retirement of Coal-Fired Power Plants Using a Just Transition, v1.0 and VMD0060 Combined Baseline and Additionality Assessment for Accelerated Retirement of Coal-fired Power Plants, v1.0 in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. The consultation will run from March 27 through April 26, 2026.

VM0052 determines net greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions resulting from the accelerated retirement of grid-connected coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) paired with the addition of renewable electricity to partially or fully replace the lost electricity capacity.

The proposed revision includes the following:

  • A requirement to have 100% of the accelerated retirement of grid-connected coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) paired with the addition of renewable electricity to partially or fully replace the lost electricity capacity by the end of the second crediting period
  • Improved electricity emission factor calculations to account for coal-fired power plants that were inactive (i.e., mothballed) but restart during the project, and coal fired power plants that run at higher capacity factors than they would have in absence of the project (i.e., reserve margin)
  • Inclusion of a stepwise and more project specific approach for determining the baseline scenario and more detailed explanation about how the baseline retirement date serves as a central element to the additionality assessment
  • Text revisions and clarifications in response to stakeholder feedback

Feedback

Please see the public consultation documents for the full background and details about the proposed updates.

Verra is accepting feedback through its digital public consultation platform, which is hosted on the Verra Project Hub. Stakeholders will need to use the link provided to enter their personal details, confirm their email address, and access the online consultation form. For additional guidance, please review the user guide (PDF).

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Comments may be submitted electronically via the online form by 11:59 pm Anywhere on Earth (UTC-12) on April 26, 2026. If you experience issues using the digital public consultation platform or have feedback on it, please contact hubsupport@verra.org.