How big can the area of a Verra grouped project be, and can it cross a border?

A grouped project is built from eligibility areas. Each area must follow the boundary of a jurisdiction or a combination of jurisdictions and sit within a single country, and each needs at least one initial instance. The baseline and additionality are set for each area from its initial instances.

What the proponent must do (Standard, section 3.5.3)

1. Specify one or more eligibility areas, which may be spatially distinct or overlapping.
2. Set up at least one initial project activity instance in each area.
3. Determine the baseline scenario and show additionality separately for each area.

How the boundary is drawn (3.5.4)

The physical boundary of an area shall align with a jurisdiction or a combination of jurisdictions and be within a single country. Verra's footnote gives the example of a state, or several states within one country, as a single area, and a county in one country plus a county in a neighbouring country as two areas. For India, our reading: one area could be a state or a set of states, and it could not include a district in Nepal or Bangladesh. The Standard sets no maximum size; the limits are the jurisdiction and single-country rules.

What the initial instances do (3.5.5)

The baseline and the additionality showing are based on the initial instances and apply across the whole area. So the first sites you register carry the evidence for every site that joins later in that area. If two parts of a state differ a lot, two areas can be cleaner than one, but each must still follow a jurisdiction boundary such as a district.

Questions to settle before drawing the map

• Which jurisdictions have the same fuel prices, subsidy schemes and common practice?
• Which sites can serve as strong first instances, with full bills and meter data?
• Does any existing registered project already cover the same sites?

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records that you can keep with your project evidence. Its in-house check is not an accredited third-party verification, and Senseible is not part of Verra's process.

• What a grouped project in Verra is
• Five tests for adding a site to a grouped project
• Location coordinates for every instance
• Carbon credits

Sources: Verra, VCS Standard v5.0 (16 December 2025)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Check the current VCS Standard, Registration and Issuance Process and Program Guide on Verra's site before you rely on this; Verra updates them periodically.