Eastern Europe countries to adopt EU Guarantees of Origin system

The Energy Community announced on Jan. 26 the launch of a project to create an electronic system for Guarantees of Origin (GOs) in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine.

GOs are electronic certificates proving to end-users that a specific quantity of electricity was produced via renewable energy sources. They are widely used in Europe, including Norway and Switzerland.

The Energy Community was set up in 2006 to extend the EU internal energy market to countries in Southeast Europe, creating an integrated pan-European energy market.

Last December, the Energy Community Secretariat signed a contract with the service provider Grexel, focusing on implementation of an electronic system to manage the issuance, transfer and cancellation of GOs in line with EU principles, enabling each party to have its own national registry, while also trading GOs regionally.

The secretariat's director, Artur Lorkowski, said: "Guarantees of Origin can be a real game changer by driving new renewables investment. On top of that, it will give the Contracting Parties a head start in implementing the Renewable Energy Directive, one of the key elements of the newly adopted Clean Energy Package."

"The national electronic register for each issuing body will conform to the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) and the European Energy Certificate System (EECS), while the regional system will enable the trade of GOs among the Energy Community Contracting Parties," said spokesperson Barbora Poyner.

The EECS is a standardized system of energy certification for all energy carriers.

If all the Energy Community countries cooperate, the launch for the project is expected in June 2022. During the project, each body will get capacity building on how to use the national register and the regional system.

No timetable has yet been defined; however, Contracting Parties will have to apply for membership of the Association of Issuing Bodies, which oversees the EECS. National registers will thus be able "to connect to the AIB hub once all other requirements, including legal, are met," said Poyner.

"Most Contracting Countries are interested to join the AIB while hoping that restrictions on trade with EU Member States from the REDII will be resolved soon. Last year, the Energy Community Secretariat signed a memorandum of understanding with the AIB to better support the Contracting Parties on that path."