Energy Community to help set up regional system for guarantees of origin

The Energy Community Secretariat called on contracting parties to express interest in the introduction of a regional trading scheme for guarantees of origin as a step toward integrating with the EU. The relevant directive will include all renewable energy sources such as biogas and green hydrogen.

The Energy Community Secretariat presented a discussion paper on the implementation of the guarantees of origin (GOs) system. Sixty stakeholders from issuing bodies, ministries and other relevant institutions participated in its creation.

Guarantees of origin certify the production of energy from renewable sources and could serve as an important tool to boost renewables investment and drive the energy transition. The contracting parties of the Energy Community are currently lagging behind in the establishment of the electronic system needed to issue and trade guarantees of origin, despite being mandatory under the Renewable Energy Directive, according to the announcement.

Regional scheme would contribute to issuance of national guarantees of origin

The idea is for the guarantees of origin to be issued and then traded among the contracting parties. Participation in the regional system will allow for the effective issuance of national guarantees of origin by default, and may constitute the first step towards integration with the European market, the secretariat said.

Issuing bodies have until April 11 to express interest in participating in the establishment of the regional scheme. The Energy Community secretariat said it would facilitate and support the endeavor.

EU doesn’t recognize GOs from the Energy Community but that could change with new Renewable Energy Directive

The discussion paper also points to potential restrictions in the recognition of guarantees of origin between European Union member states and the contracting parties, which should be addressed in the ongoing revision of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

With the new regulations, the scope of GOs will be expanded from electricity to renewable energy in general. GOs for renewable gases, such as biogas and hydrogen, are currently already being issued in several EU member states.

GOs enable end-users to choose renewable energy

The primary goal of renewable energy certification is to enable disclosure, revealing the origin of energy sold to final consumers, and give consumers more ownership over the choice of the origin of their energy. It gives end-users the possibility to legitimately claim their energy is coming from renewable sources. Once the electricity provider has fed the electricity into the grid, the GO received for that amount of electricity can be sold on the open market as an energy commodity.

The secretariat noted that Kosovo* and Montenegro need to update their legislation. The implementation of the system has not yet taken place, with the exception of Serbia, where transmission system operator Elektromreža Srbije is the issuing body and registry operator.