Guarantees of origin
Under the Electricity Market Act, the transmission system operator, Elering, will issue the producer, based on the producer’s application, a certificate of origin, which certifies that the electricity has been generated from renewable energy sources or in an efficient cogeneration process.
The origin of the electricity consumed is certified by using guarantees of origin issued in Estonia or in another member state of the European Union and cancelled in the Estonian database. A guarantee of origin is an electronic document and may be bought separately from the electricity generated. A guarantee of origin is valid for 12 months after the production of its unit of energy (1 megawatt-hour) and thereafter may no longer be used or traded.
As of September 2014, Elering, and therefore the Estonian domain, is a member of the association for issuance of guarantees of origin, AIB (Association of Issuing Bodies). AIB administers the central electronic registry for guarantees of origin (the AIB Hub), which facilitates cross-border trade in guarantees of origin and promotes the standardised pan-European framework of rules (the European Energy Certificate System or EECS). A short brochure explaining the AIB in more detail is available here.
The guarantee of origin database can be found at green.elering.ee. The Estonian Domain Protocol describes the main activities and procedures that a producer or trader may encounter when using the guarantee of origin database. For queries or suggestions, please email avp.go@elering.ee or call (+372) 71 51 243.
As of 16.11.2017, a total of 60 market participants (producers and traders) have joined the guarantee of origin database. A total of 58 generating installations with a combined capacity of 687 MW are registered on the database.
|
Technology |
Number of generating installations |
Total capacity (MW) |
|---|---|---|
|
Wind |
22 |
302,8 |
|
Hydro energy |
14 |
5,686 |
|
Biogas |
5 |
4,308 |
|
Biomass |
10 |
355,095 |
| Other | 7 | 19,187 |
In 2016, 1415 GWh of electricity was generated from renewable sources, and in turn, guarantees of origin were issued for 1292 GWh of electricity.
- A producer located in the Republic of Estonia generating electricity from renewable energy sources or in efficient CHP mode provided for in the Electricity Market Act, or a trader authorised by such producer, has the right to submit an application for the issuance of a guarantee of origin.
- The standard unit of energy of a guarantee of origin is one megawatt-hour. One guarantee of origin is issued in respect of each megawatt-hour of electricity generated. If the full number of megawatt-hours in the application is exceeded, the remaining kilowatt-hours can be used in the application for the next period’s guarantees of origin.
- A prerequisite for submitting an application for the issuance of guarantees of origin is registering a production device located in the Republic of Estonia in the database administered by the transmission system operator.
- When applying for guarantees of origin for electricity generated in an efficient cogeneration mode, you will also need to submit to the transmission system operator (via avp.go@elering.ee) the relevant data necessary for checking the fulfilment of efficiency requirements.
- A market participant does not need to be located in the Republic of Estonia in order to trade guarantees of origin, but both producers and traders must accept and sign the Standard Terms and Conditions and the application to register with the database.
Guarantees of origin for electricity produced from renewable energy sources include:
- the name, address and contact information of the producer
- the name, location, type and installed electrical capacity of the generating installation, and the designated energy source used for the generation of electricity;
- the date on which the generating installation first supplied electricity;
- the start and end date of production of the energy unit;
- whether and to what extent the producer has received investment support or the subsidy specified in § 59 of the Electricity Market Act;
- the date of issue of the guarantee of origin and its identification number;
- other relevant information.
In addition to the information above, certificates of origin of electricity generated in an efficient CHP process also include the following:
- the heat capacity of the generating installation;
- the lower calorific value of the fuel used;
- the volume and manner of use of the thermal energy generated in the cogeneration process;
- the nominal electrical and thermal efficiency of the generating installation;
- the primary energy saving.
Elering applies activity fees for the export, import and cancellation of guarantees of origin (GO) outside the Estonian domain as follows:
- Registration fee (registration of producers, generating installations or traders in the database): not applicable
- Activity fee 0.005 EUR per GO, applied for the export and/or import of GOs in our system and for external cancellations of GOs in states/areas that are not members of AIB and whose registries are not technically compatible with Elering’s: currently not applicable; market participants will be notified about application of the fee in good time.
The three main European policy goals in the “Clean Energy for all Europeans” Package are:
- putting energy efficiency first;
- achieving global leadership in renewable energies; and
- providing a fair deal for consumers.
Consumers are active and central players on the energy markets of the future. Consumers across the EU will have a better basis for the choice of supply, access to reliable energy price comparison tools and the possibility to produce and sell their own renewable electricity. Increased transparency and better regulation give more opportunities for civil society to become more involved in the energy system. The package also contains a number of measures aimed at protecting the most vulnerable consumers.
European policy makers are working on a new legal framework for the European energy market, called the ‘Clean Energy for all Europeans’ package. To find out why this is important for consumers, and how consumers can contribute to the transition to a more sustainable European electricity market read on...
- A producer located in the Republic of Estonia generating electricity from renewable energy sources or in efficient CHP mode provided for in the Electricity Market Act, or a trader authorised by such producer, has the right to submit an application for the issuance of a guarantee of origin.
- The standard unit of energy of a guarantee of origin is one megawatt-hour. One guarantee of origin is issued in respect of each megawatt-hour of electricity generated. If the full number of megawatt-hours in the application is exceeded, the remaining kilowatt-hours can be used in the application for the next period’s guarantees of origin.
- A prerequisite for submitting an application for the issuance of guarantees of origin is registering a production device located in the Republic of Estonia in the database administered by the transmission system operator.
- When applying for guarantees of origin for electricity generated in an efficient cogeneration mode, you will also need to submit to the transmission system operator (via avp.go@elering.ee) the relevant data necessary for checking the fulfilment of efficiency requirements.
- A market participant does not need to be located in the Republic of Estonia in order to trade guarantees of origin, but both producers and traders must accept and sign the Standard Terms and Conditions and the application to register with the database.
Guarantees of origin for electricity produced from renewable energy sources include:
- the name, address and contact information of the producer
- the name, location, type and installed electrical capacity of the generating installation, and the designated energy source used for the generation of electricity;
- the date on which the generating installation first supplied electricity;
- the start and end date of production of the energy unit;
- whether and to what extent the producer has received investment support or the subsidy specified in § 59 of the Electricity Market Act;
- the date of issue of the guarantee of origin and its identification number;
- other relevant information.
In addition to the information above, certificates of origin of electricity generated in an efficient CHP process also include the following:
- the heat capacity of the generating installation;
- the lower calorific value of the fuel used;
- the volume and manner of use of the thermal energy generated in the cogeneration process;
- the nominal electrical and thermal efficiency of the generating installation;
- the primary energy saving.
Elering applies activity fees for the export, import and cancellation of guarantees of origin (GO) outside the Estonian domain as follows:
- Registration fee (registration of producers, generating installations or traders in the database): not applicable
- Activity fee 0.005 EUR per GO, applied for the export and/or import of GOs in our system and for external cancellations of GOs in states/areas that are not members of AIB and whose registries are not technically compatible with Elering’s: currently not applicable; market participants will be notified about application of the fee in good time.
The three main European policy goals in the “Clean Energy for all Europeans” Package are:
- putting energy efficiency first;
- achieving global leadership in renewable energies; and
- providing a fair deal for consumers.
Consumers are active and central players on the energy markets of the future. Consumers across the EU will have a better basis for the choice of supply, access to reliable energy price comparison tools and the possibility to produce and sell their own renewable electricity. Increased transparency and better regulation give more opportunities for civil society to become more involved in the energy system. The package also contains a number of measures aimed at protecting the most vulnerable consumers.
European policy makers are working on a new legal framework for the European energy market, called the ‘Clean Energy for all Europeans’ package. To find out why this is important for consumers, and how consumers can contribute to the transition to a more sustainable European electricity market read on...