Grid-Connected Renewable Electricity

In short

GCC renewable-electricity methodology for the Gulf and beyond.

What it is

GCCM001 is the Global Carbon Council methodology for renewable energy generation projects that supply electricity to a connected grid or to captive consumers. Eligible activities are renewable power projects, such as solar, wind, and hydropower, that displace electricity otherwise provided by a more emission-intensive mix of grid sources. The methodology sets baseline and monitoring rules to calculate the resulting emission reductions. Each credit is an Approved Carbon Credit equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent avoided.

What it rewards

The reward is a credit called a Approved Carbon Credit (ACC). One credit stands for one tonne of carbon dioxide kept out of the atmosphere (or taken back out of it). One tonne of CO₂-equivalent verified-and-issued. A whole period of work is issued as one batch of credits at a time, in the same way a registry issues a batch.

What gets measured

To earn ACC credits, a project has to measure and prove a few things. An independent reviewer checks the evidence before any credits are issued.

• The baseline: what would most likely have happened to the land or the emissions if the project had not gone ahead.

• The activity data for the period, with clear units and a clear source for every number.

• The net result actually achieved, checked by an independent reviewer before any credits are issued.

Who takes part

• Standard Registry. Owns the policy, approves participants, anchors each issuance to its evidence.

• Project Proponent. Registers the project and submits monitoring reports.

• Validation & Verification Body. Independently validates the design and verifies monitored data.

How it works

1. 1

   The project team registers the project and its plan.

2. 2

   An independent reviewer checks that the plan is sound and that the benefit is real and would not have happened anyway.

3. 3

   The team looks after the site and measures the agreed indicators over time.

4. 4

   The independent reviewer verifies those measurements.

5. 5

   Credits are issued for the verified result, and a buyer can retire a credit to claim the benefit once.