Projects must provide a complete list of organizations participating in the project. This must include: the organization's name, role in the project, registration number, address, contact person, email address, and phone number.
Work with us as a Subsurface Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage supplier
We've combined requirements from our modular protocol framework outlining everything you need to be validated as a Subsurface Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage supplier.
We provide further support to compile a compliant validation package on our platform, Isometric Certify.
Overview
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List of Subsurface Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage requirements
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Table of contents
Project setup
Project setup
Essential project details including who's involved, the location of your project, and how much carbon will be removed.
Projects must provide an estimate of the net removal and/or reduction capacity of this project for the duration of the project crediting period (metric tonnes).
Projects must provide a brief explanation for why they are eligible under the selected protocol.
Projects must submit at least one address and/or specific geo-coordinates for the project. Projects may submit multiple project locations – please specify what role each location plays in the project.
Projects must provide reasoning and evidence for legal ownership over the rights to all removals and reductions that will be claimed.
Projects must provide a brief technical description of the Project activity in accessible language. This should include information on facilities and equipment, the age and average lifespan of equipment, descriptions of technologies, products, services and infrastructure to be utilised, and all further information essential to understanding how carbon removal or emissions reduction is achieved by the Project.
To mitigate the risks of double counting and scheme-hopping, Projects undergoing Validation must disclose any participation in other carbon standards or registries within the past five years, provide recent validation and verification audit reports (including findings and any suspensions or withdrawals), and state whether they withdrew from any prior scheme before completing a first verification.
Please provide details and evidence that the feedstock durability has been demonstrated using incubation studies for a minimum of 6 months.
The Project Proponent must provide incubation data, including the performance of any encapsulation matrix, demonstrating the GHG evolution rate when extrapolated to the claimed durability period, demonstrates the biomass storage technology will facilitate the durability period claimed.
Projects must demonstrate how the burial conditions facilitating the intended durability of the credits will be maintained.
Projects must demonstrate that any sealing/encapsulation matrix will facilitate the intended durability of the credits.
Projects must demonstrate the shear force that would cause slope collapse and how the storage site is designed to reduce the risk of slope collapse and subsequent tearing of encapsulated biomass.
Protocol & monitoring data
Protocol & monitoring data
How will you be measuring, monitoring and maintaining carbon removal, including data models and risk assessments.
Projects must define the temporal and geographic project boundary.
Projects must provide a detailed description of the GHG statement approach and methodology in relation to calculations.
Projects must define their system boundary to include all sources, sinks, and reservoirs (SSRs) and their associated GHGs as specified in the relevant protocol. Any GHG SSR that is excluded from the system boundary must be clearly identified and supported by robust justification and evidence where applicable.
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must demonstrate a durability in excess of the designated project durability threshold.
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must select from the durability threshold(s) defined in the protocol or module to be the project durability threshold.
Projects must demonstrate Financial Additionality by evidencing removals and/or reductions are the main purpose and only source of revenue; OR demonstrating that economic barriers would prevent project implementation in the absence of carbon finance.
Projects must evaluate leakage by providing a robust assessment of the potential increases in GHG emissions outside the system boundary that occurs as a result of the project activity.
For verification, Projects must conduct a sensitivity analysis that demonstrates the impact of each input parameter’s uncertainty on the final net CO₂e uncertainty. For validation, Projects must describe how the sensitivity analysis will be performed and explicitly state whether they will use Certify
Projects must specify whether they used conservative estimates of input parameters, variance propagation and/or Monte Carlo simulations in consideration of uncertainty (one or multiple options).
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must complete the protocol or module specific risk assessment to support the risk of reversal and buffer pool size.
Projects must assert the method(s) for compliance with regulations for all jurisdictions to which the project is beholden.
Projects must demonstrate that activities similar to the activities of the proposed project are not common practice.
Projects must demonstrate Regulatory Additionality by evidencing that the project is not required by existing laws, regulations, policies, or other binding obligations.
Projects must reason and evidence the baseline scenario of their activities having not taken place. Projects will only be credited for removals or reductions above this counterfactual baseline.
Projects must describe and justify any models used for quantification, monitoring, and meeting specified protocol requirements.
Projects must demonstrate Environmental Additionality by evidencing the climate impact of the project. Removals must be net negative after subtracting the counterfactual CO2 removal and all project GHG emissions, including leakage, from project CO2 removals. Reductions must have a net emission reduction after subtracting the Counterfactual GHG CO2e reduction and all project GHG emissions, including leakage, from project CO2e reductions.
Projects must describe the data collection and storage approach taken, including how data is transmitted, collected and stored, the length of time for which records are archived, backup procedures and strategies and the person(s) / organization(s) responsible for measurement and data collection.
Environmental & social impacts
Environmental & social impacts
How will your project affect people and nature, and how will you manage any risks that arise.
Projects must describe the conditions under which the project will be considered closed, and describe the project closure plan – outlining any post-cessation actions that will be undertaken upon closure of the project.
Projects must demonstrate that it creates no net environmental harm through an environmental impact assessment. This assessment must include, but is not limited to, resource efficiency and pollution prevention and biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of living natural resources.
Projects must provide an overall assessment for the potential material environmental and social impacts, both within and beyond its boundary.
Projects must outline and detail compliance with applicable national and local laws and regulations.
Projects must demonstrate that it creates no net social harm by evaluating the potential negative social risks from a project’s implementation.
Projects must demonstrate how their carbon removal activities are consistent with relevant SDGs.
Projects must provide evidence demonstrating compliance with international conventions and standards governing human rights and uses of the environment.
Stakeholder input process
Stakeholder input process
How will your project work with and respond to the community while staying compliant and adaptable.
Projects must outline the mechanism for stakeholders to voice, process and resolve grievances.
Projects must provide a description and documentation of how comments by local stakeholders have been invited and compiled, a summary of comments received, report on how due account was taken of comments received, and the date and location of the stakeholder consultation, providing photographic evidence where possible.
Pathway-specific
Pathway-specific
How will your project meet pathway-specific process requirements.
Projects must submit evidence of an active permit, issued by the responsible authority for the location of the storage site.
Projects must provide detailed documentation of all engineered barrier systems.
If biomass is mixed into the Project backfill material, Projects must demonstrate the composition and geotechnical efficiency of the backfill compared to materials that would have been utilized in the absence of the Project.
Projects must provide a description of all monitoring methods, equipment, detection limits and any applicable standards that will be used within the Project.
If a seismic monitoring program is required by relevant regulatory authorities, Projects must outline the details of the seismic monitoring program. The monitoring plan must include deeper wireline or cemented subsurface geophones. This should be combined with a at/near ground level stations as part of an integrated detection strategy.
Projects must describe baseline measurements collected prior to the storage of biomass within mine chambers. Gas detections may be traced to quantify how much gas production is due to biomass decomposition or mining activities. If no such methods are used, Projects must consider all increases in GHGs as reversals.
Projects must provide a theoretical or empirical justification demonstrating that the monitoring system can detect CO2 reversals, as well as CH4 and N2O emissions (if relevant), equivalent to the decay of 1% of the total stored biomass mass over a 20-year period.
Projects must describe how gas concentrations and airflow outside mine chambers utilised for storage of biomass will be monitored.
If projects use sealing barriers between different mine chambers, projects must undertake ongoing monitoring within each chamber utilized for biomass storage.
If groundwater infiltration into storage chambers occurs, Projects must: Calculate groundwater flux rates through storage chambers; Measure or calculate dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) production from stored biomass under relevant conditions; Calculate potential DOC and DIC export rates and cumulative carbon loss over crediting timescales and demonstrate how these will be deducted from net removal calculations; Implement groundwater monitoring systems to detect intrusion and measure DOC and DIC concentrations downstream of storage areas.
Projects must provide a description of how biomass will be stored within subsurface systems at the Project mining location.
Projects must describe how gas concentrations within storage chambers will be monitored.
Projects must outline and describe how geological and/or structural seals will be implemented between storage chambers and existing mine infrastructure.
Projects must describe the periodic sampling and characterization of biomass and slurry mixtures prior to emplacement.
If a Project utilized an engineered backfill material for storage and sealing, Projects must provide a full description of the backfill composition.
Projects must provide a plan for testing the sealing integrity of sealing barriers between storage chambers, in conditions representative of the storage site.
If the Project requires additional excavation of land compared to what would have occurred in the absence of the Project activities, Projects must quantify the baseline carbon stocks and account for any loss of carbon stocks. Such excavations may be for the purpose of providing additional geological material, such as mud, as a binder/ slurry feedstock that is mixed with biomass prior to emplacement and storage. Increases in soil organic carbon are not considered creditable removals under this Module.
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must create a table that outlines all monitored parameters in their selected protocol and modules.
Projects must outline the process by which biomass will be placed and stored in subsurface mine chambers.
Projects must submit characterisation information on the potential for gases produced by biomass degradation and other volatile compounds to migrate beyond the intended storage boundary.
Projects must demonstrate target storage chambers are not impacted by groundwater.
Projects must undertake and submit geotechnical hazard evaluations, including a comprehensive subsidence assessment, that covers the long-term stability of the storage operation.
Projects must demonstrate suitability of the Project site. Projects must submit the site characterization assessment as evidence.
Projects must submit a seismic hazard characterization assessment encompassing regional assessments of both natural and induced seismicity.
Projects must outline gas diffusion calculations and results for the Project over relevant timescales (see Equations 1, 2 and 3).
Projects must assess the potential for reversals, as a result of human activities, both during the project crediting period and post closure, outlining mitigation plans or actions.
Projects must provide a closure plan that describes the details of how the site/facility will be closed and storage chambers maintained after biomass burial activities have concluded.
Projects must provide a post-closure care plan that includes a monitoring plan, a description of planned maintenance activities for carbon storage and contact information during the required post-closure care period.
Projects must assess potential leaks that may be a result of intentional or inadvertent human disturbance of storage sites.
Projects must provide evidence that legally binding land-use restriction mechanisms have been implemented to ensure stored biomass remains undisturbed for either 1,000 years or in perpetuity at the Project location.
Projects must provide evidence to demonstrate the accuracy of claimed biomass durability within the crediting project.
Projects must demonstrate that the intended storage location is an applicable mining operation.
Projects must outline how the implementation of the project may impact mine permitting, operation, and closure. Specifically considering where the implementation of a project may impact waste production volumes, waste management and the mine operators net emissions.
Projects must submit a leak pathways assessment.
Projects must document the composition of any synthetic materials used to increase the durability of biomass stored and incorporate this into the environmental risk assessment.
Projects must provide a plan for information sharing, emergency response and conditions for stopping or pausing a deployment.
Projects must describe their approach to measuring the %wt of carbon in processed biomass for each Burial Batch or Production Batch via total carbon content analysis using ASTM D5373 or equivalent, conducted by the Project Proponent or an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory.
Projects must include all relevant details of their sampling plan, including the number and frequency of sampling and analysis and clear confirmation of adherence to either Method A or B.
Projects must detail their approach to calculating the mass of buried biomass by measuring the difference between delivery truck weight upon arrival and departure at the burial facility using a calibrated scale.
Projects must detail their plan to monitor, document, and quantify any biomass spills or losses due to process upsets or equipment failures, and deduct those amounts from the delivered biomass quantity in the GHG Statement for the affected burial batch.