Finance Appendix

1. Purpose of This Appendix

This appendix outlines the carbon-credit generation logic, eligibility, integrity safeguards, and monetization pathways for the Maha Sarakham Provincial Bioenergy Platform.
It is designed to support DFI appraisal, climate-fund alignment, and future carbon offtake discussions, while remaining conservative, auditable, and MRV-ready.

2. Carbon Credit Generation Pathways

The project generates multiple, clearly separable climate value streams, each aligned with internationally recognized methodologies.

2.1 Avoided Open-Field Burning (Primary Impact)

Source of reductions

• Rice straw and sugarcane leaves that are historically burned in the open field

• Verified agricultural residue volumes provided by the Provincial Agricultural Office

Climate impact

• Avoided methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and black carbon emissions

• Major co-benefit: significant reduction of PM2.5

Accounting nature

• Avoided Emissions

• Conservative baseline aligned with IPCC and regional emission-factor studies

Indicative emission factor

• ~1.5 tCO₂e per ton of biomass avoided from burning

2.2 Renewable Electricity Displacement

Source of reductions

• Biomass power generation (67.79 MW province-wide)

• Displacement of fossil-based grid electricity

Accounting nature

• Avoided Emissions

• Grid emission factor applied conservatively

Indicative factor

• ~0.55 tCO₂e per MWh

2.3 Organic Composting & Soil Carbon Co-Benefits

Source of reductions

• Conversion of agricultural residues into organic compost

• Reduced use of synthetic fertilizers

• Improved soil organic carbon over time

Accounting nature

• Combination of:

  • Avoided emissions (fertilizer displacement)

  • Potential carbon removals (soil carbon increase), subject to methodology

Treatment in early phases

• Counted conservatively as avoided emissions only

• Soil carbon sequestration considered upside potential, not base case

3. Estimated Annual Carbon Impact (Conservative Case)

Item Annual Impact

Avoided open burning ~1.63 million tCO₂e

Renewable electricity displacement ~260,000 tCO₂e

Composting & fertilizer displacement ~30,000–50,000 tCO₂e

Total estimated impact ~1.9 million tCO₂e / year

Note: Soil carbon sequestration is not included in the base-case total to preserve conservativeness for DFI review.

4. Carbon Standards & Methodology Alignment

The project is structured to remain standard-agnostic, enabling flexibility while maintaining integrity.

4.1 Applicable Standards (Indicative)

• Gold Standard
  – Energy access, renewable electricity, and sustainable agriculture methodologies

• Verra (VCS)
  – Avoided burning, renewable energy, and composting pathways

• T-VER (Thailand)
  – National compliance and domestic buyers

• High-integrity removal platforms (future option)
  – For soil carbon modules once data maturity is achieved

4.2 Eligibility Considerations

Criterion Project Status

Additionality Strong (burning remains baseline practice)

Permanence Medium–High (energy + compost use)

Leakage risk Low (provincial aggregation)

Double counting Controlled via feedstock registry

MRV readiness High (digital MRV roadmap in place)

5. MRV & Data Integrity Framework

The project is designed from inception to support bankable MRV.

Key data layers

• District-level biomass supply records

• GPS-tagged collection points

• Power generation SCADA data

• Compost plant input/output mass balance

• Avoided burning verification (seasonal comparison)

Verification approach

• Third-party validation and verification bodies (VVBs)

• Conservative default factors until site-specific data is available

• Digital MRV system phased in over time

6. Carbon Credit Ownership & Allocation

Principle

• Carbon rights are consolidated at the project SPV / platform level, with contractual recognition of farmer and community participation.

Allocation logic (indicative)

• Platform / investors: long-term monetization & reinvestment

• Community: indirect benefit via biomass pricing and compost access

• Government: air-quality and public-health benefits (non-monetized)

This structure avoids fragmentation while remaining socially inclusive and DFI-aligned.

7. Monetization Strategy (Indicative, Not Base Case)

Carbon revenues are treated as upside, not as a prerequisite for project bankability.

Potential buyers

• Corporate Scope 3 buyers (agribusiness, food, materials)

• Industrial electricity offtakers

• Climate funds seeking high-PM2.5-impact credits

Indicative price range (non-binding)

• Avoided emissions: USD 5–15 / tCO₂e

• High-integrity removal (future soil carbon): USD 20–40 / tCO₂e

8. DFIs Care About This Carbon Profile

The project delivers:

• Large-scale, real-economy emission reductions

• Direct linkage between climate action and public health (PM2.5)

• High additionality with minimal technology risk

• Strong alignment with:

  • Paris Agreement objectives

  • Just Transition principles

  • Rural income stabilization

Importantly, the project remains fully investable without carbon revenue, while preserving significant climate-finance upside.

9. Replicability & Portfolio Potential

The Maha Sarakham platform is designed as a template:

• Repeatable across Thailand’s agricultural provinces

• Standardized MRV and contractual framework

• Suitable for portfolio-level carbon aggregation

This enables future province-by-province scaling under a single climate-finance architecture.