Guarantees of origin: turning renewable ambition into action

Author: Naida Hausmann, Lead of the Renewable Energy Taskforce, Energy Community Secretariat

Far from being mere certificates, guarantees of origin (GOs) underpin the entire renewable energy value chain – building trust and accountability among producers, businesses and consumers. By ensuring transparent tracking of green electricity and enabling cross-border recognition, GOs can accelerate decarbonisation across the EU and the Energy Community, helping Europe achieve its climate targets. Mutual recognition between the EU and the Energy Community would open regional markets, attract investment, and give consumers and businesses a tangible role in the energy transition.

A guarantee of origin (GO) certifies that one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from renewable sources. It provides a transparent chain of information about where and how electricity was produced, allowing consumers and companies to claim the renewable origin of the electricity they use, even if they draw it from a mixed grid.

In the European Union, the national systems for guarantees of origin are well established. Cross-border transfer of certificates is enabled through the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB), helping to build confidence among suppliers and buyers alike.

As part of the Energy Community regional project, nearly all issuing bodies have now established national electronic registries for issuing GOs

In the Energy Community, similar systems are advancing rapidly, laying the groundwork for a fully integrated regional market for renewable electricity. As part of the Energy Community regional project, nearly all issuing bodies have now established national electronic registries for issuing GOs.

Work is ongoing to finalise disclosure rules, with the goal of fully aligning these systems with EU legislation and requirements. Once fully aligned, these systems can enable seamless cross-border trade in renewable electricity – bringing the Energy Community a step closer to the EU’s internal energy market.

Empowering consumers and corporates

GOs transform energy consumers from passive users into active participants in the energy transition. When a household subscribes to a “100% renewable” tariff, or when a company purchases GOs to match its electricity use, it signals clear market demand for renewable generation. This demand translates into investment: it strengthens developers’ business cases, supports project financing, and helps accelerate the construction of new renewables capacity.

Moreover, when GOs are sold separately from electricity, they provide an additional revenue stream for developers, making projects more financially viable.

For corporates, GOs have become an essential tool to meet sustainability and reporting obligations and demonstrate that their electricity consumption is renewable. GOs therefore form the backbone of corporate energy procurement strategies and sustainability claims, particularly when coupled with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Why mutual recognition matters

Under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, GOs can only be mutually recognised with third countries once a formal agreement is concluded – a requirement that carries significant implications. For the Energy Community contracting parties, such recognition would effectively link their systems with the EU market for renewable attributes, allowing renewable energy producers to access European buyers and investors.

Importantly, such recognition would also catalyse other mechanisms that drive the uptake of renewables, enabling regional PPAs, enhancing liquidity and sending stronger investment signals. For investors and utilities alike, a unified GO market reduces risk, increases price transparency and ensures that renewable attributes are valued consistently across borders.

For investors and utilities alike, a unified GO market reduces risk, increases price transparency and ensures that renewable attributes are valued consistently across borders

In the Energy Community region, where access to capital remains a barrier to the deployment of renewables, this is not a minor issue – it is a gateway to unlocking the private investment needed to meet regional and European decarbonisation goals.

The Energy Community Secretariat, together with the European Commission, has been advancing a decision for mutual recognition. Once in place, it will allow certificates issued in the Energy Community to be traded and recognised within the EU, provided they meet equivalent standards of reliability and verification.

Criteria for recognition

Beyond the technical criteria for establishing and maintaining a system of guarantees of origin by national competent authorities, including membership in the AIB, the draft decision on the mutual recognition of guarantees of origin, as presented by the European Commission, sets out additional requirements. These include criteria for the transposition and implementation of the acquis communautaire on electricity and renewable energy.

The Energy Community Secretariat is expected to support the assessment of compliance and monitor implementation. Together, these criteria aim to establish a credible and transparent framework for mutual recognition, ensuring that GOs issued across the region are reliable and can be confidently traded.

Way forward

With almost all issuing bodies in Energy Community contracting parties having operationalised electronic registries for GOs, the focus should now shift to implementing robust disclosure rules and meeting the remaining criteria for mutual recognition. Ensuring alignment with EU legislation and participating in the AIB will be essential to create a transparent and trusted system, unlocking cross-border trade, investment and market confidence in renewable electricity.

Issuing bodies in Albania, the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Georgia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine have operationalised their registries. The issuing body in Moldova has signed an agreement with a service provider and is expected to operationalise its registry by the end of 2025, while the only issuing body without an electronic registry remains that of the Federation of BiH.

Conclusion

GOs translate environmental ambition into measurable progress toward decarbonisation. They give visibility to renewable electricity, credibility to corporate climate action and empower consumers with choice and the ability to participate in the clean energy transition. For the Energy Community and the European Union alike, mutual recognition of GOs would mark a practical and symbolic step toward a truly integrated European renewables market – one where clean electricity, investment and trust flow freely across borders.

By turning certificates into confidence and ambition into action, GOs can help bridge the remaining gap between policy objectives and market reality, ensuring that the path to decarbonisation is both transparent and inclusive.