A Guarantee of Origin is a tracking instrument defined in article 15 of the European Directive 2009/28/EC. A GO labels electricity from renewable sources to provide information to electricity customers on the source of their energy. Guarantees of origin are the only precisely defined instruments evidencing the origin of electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
Certificate
In operation, a GO is a green label or tracker that guarantees that one MWh of electricity has been produced from renewable energy sources. Guarantees of origin are traded. When a company buys guarantees of origin, as documentation for the electricity delivered or consumed, the guarantees of origin are cancelled in the electronic certificate registry. This single standardized instrument makes it possible to track ownership, verify claims and ensure that guarantees of origin are only sold once and that there is no double counting. In their most accomplished form, guarantees of origin are issued electronically for a controlled quantity of electricity generation, traded and redeemed by suppliers as evidence to their customers of the quality of the delivered electricity. Generation from renewable energysources is the most sought-after attribute. A new development concerns guarantees of origin for cogeneration heat plants. Some countries already have guarantees of origin issued for all types of electricity generation. AIB statistics from 2016 show that Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands are the largest markets for guarantees of origin in Europe. While Europe's biggest market, Germany, halted its rapid growth, the Dutch market continued to grow at a faster pace than the rest, almost reaching 50 TWh in 2016. Guarantees of origin should not be confused with the Eugene Green Energy Standard or EKOenergy labelling scheme. Both provide consumers with more information about their power. However, Eugene and EKOenergy go further by requiring additionality. Besides, Eugene and EKOenergy are private initiativeswhereas guarantees of origin arise from European regulations.
Refers to the month and year when the electricity was produced.
Issued
GOs created in a month for electricity produced in an earlier month.
Transfer
Transfer is the delivery process of GO from one party to another.
Import – export
GOs can originate from another country than the country of consumption. GOs can be imported from another country either via import, or via cancellation.
Cancellation
Cancellation is analogous to physical 'use' of a GO certificate and is the method for allocating the attributes of the electricity to the single end-user. Cancelling a GO is the only way to redeem its benefits while ensuring that the certificate will not be traded, given, sold, or used by another end-user. Consumer information and avoidance of double counting is the main objective of this system.
