UNFCCC/CCNUCC CDM – Executive Board EB 50 Report Annex 15 Page 1 Methodological Tool “Tool to determine the remaining lifetime of equipment” (Version 01) I. SCOPE, APPLICABILITY AND PARAMETERS Definitions For the purpose of this tool, the following definitions apply: Equipment. The term equipment includes all types of equipment related to industrial, commercial, residential facilities, e.g. power plant equipment such as boilers, turbines (steam, gas, wind, hydro), electric generators, pumps, motors, engines, and heat transfer equipment such as heaters, chillers, etc. In the context of this tool, the term equipment may refer to a single component, or an assembly of several components. The term equipment does not include (a) stationary infrastructure, such as buildings, roads or railways, bridges, tunnels, hydro dams, (b) vehicles, such as cars, buses, trains, and (c) consumer goods (except industrial appliances, such as chillers, refrigerators, etc). Technical lifetime is defined as the total time for which the equipment is technically designed to operate from its first commissioning. The technical lifetime is expressed in years or hours of operation. Operational time is defined as the total time that the equipment has been operating since its first commissioning. The operational time is expressed in years or hours of operation. Remaining lifetime (RL). The remaining lifetime of the equipment is the time for which the existing equipment can continue to operate before it has to be replaced/discarded for technical reasons, such as the age of the equipment, safety reasons, or deteriorated performance. The remaining lifetime is expressed in years or hours of operation. Scope and Applicability The tool provides guidance to determine the remaining lifetime of baseline or project equipment. The tool may, for example, be used for project activities which involve the replacement of existing equipment with new equipment or which retrofit existing equipment as part of energy efficiency improvement activities. Methodologies referring to this tool should clearly specify for which equipment the remaining lifetime should be determined. The remaining lifetime of relevant equipment shall be determined prior to the implementation of the project activity. Project participants using this tool shall document transparently in the CDM-PDD how the remaining lifetime of applicable equipment has been determined, including (references to) all documentation used. Under this tool, impacts on the lifetime of the equipment due to policies and regulations (e.g. environmental regulations) or changes in the services needed (e.g. increased energy demand) are not considered. Methodologies referring to this tool shall, where applicable, provide specific guidance on how regulations that warrant the replacement of the equipment before it has reached the end of its technical lifetime should be addressed. UNFCCC/CCNUCC CDM – Executive Board EB 50 Report Annex 15 Page 2 Parameters This tool provides procedures to determine the following parameter: Parameter RL SI Unit years or hours Description Remaining lifetime of the baseline or project equipment II. METHODOLOGY PROCEDURE Project participants may use one of the following options to determine the remaining lifetime of the equipment: (a) Use manufacturer’s information on the technical lifetime of equipment and compare to the date of first commissioning; (b) Obtain an expert evaluation; (c) Use default values. Project participants should document their choice in the CDM-PDD. If the application of this tool results in a range for the remaining lifetime rather than a single value, project participants should choose the remaining lifetime in a conservative manner by using the lower or upper end of the possible range, 1 which should be confirmed by the DOE. For project activities that involve several equipment, project participants can either determine the remaining lifetime for each equipment or determine the remaining lifetime as the most conservative of the individual remaining lifetimes of the equipment by applying any one of the options (a) to (c). If the remaining lifetime of existing equipment, which would continue to operate in the baseline, is extended due to the implementation of a project activity, the crediting of emission reductions should be limited to the shortest estimated remaining lifetime of the baseline equipment. In other words, the earliest point in time when any of the existing equ