Public Consultation on New Cookstoves Methodology

Verra has opened a public consultation on the draft Methodology for Improved Cookstoves and Other Distributed Thermal Energy Generation Units (M0174) in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. This consultation will run from December 15, 2023, until January 31, 2024.

This methodology will provide a high-integrity approach to quantifying emission reductions from the introduction of improved cookstoves and other thermal energy generation units (e.g., dryers, ovens, and heaters) in households, communities, institutions, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The emission reductions result either from enhanced efficiency and/or fuel switch to lower greenhouse gas-intensive fuels (i.e., involving the replacement of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass).

The proposed methodology includes several updates and changes that reflect current best practices of project design and implementation in distributed thermal energy generation. It also incorporates streamlined monitoring approaches such as direct measurement techniques (e.g., stove use monitors, fuel weight sensors, electricity meters) and updated default values for various ex ante parameters. Moreover, it covers a broad set of activities and consolidates elements of existing methodologies currently approved for use in the VCS Program, including the following:

• VMR0006 Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switch Measures in Thermal Applications, v1.2
• AMS-II.G.: Energy efficiency measures in thermal applications of non-renewable biomass, v13.0 (external site)
• AMS-I.E.: Switch from non-renewable biomass for thermal applications by the user, v13.0 (external site)

Any proponents developing new projects or renewing crediting periods for existing projects implementing cookstoves or other thermal energy generation activities in the VCS Program will have to use this new methodology when approved.