The Renewables Obligation (RO) is designed to encourage generation of electricity from eligible renewable sources in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in England and Wales and in a different form in Scotland in April 2002 and in Northern Ireland in April 2005, replacing the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation which operated from 1990.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as Green tags, Renewable Energy Credits, Renewable Electricity Certificates, or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities in the United States that represent proof that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from an eligible renewable energy resource and was fed into the shared system of power lines which transport energy. Solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) are RECs that are specifically generated by solar energy. Renewable Energy Certificates provide a mechanism for the purchase of renewable energy that is added to and pulled from the electrical grid. The updated Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 Guidance guarantees of origin, RECs and I-RECs as mainstream instruments for documenting and tracking electricity consumed from renewable sources.
A green certificate – terminology predominantly used in Europe but now becoming more widespread globally – are a tradable commodity proving that certain electricity is generated using renewable energy sources. Typically one certificate represents the generation of one Megawatthour of electricity. What is defined as "renewable" varies from certificate trading scheme to trading scheme. Usually, at least the following sources are considered as renewable:
(Alfred) Stephen Probyn (1951–2008) was one of North America's foremost authorities on green energy and the independent power industry. Probyn was best known as a financier, entrepreneur, regulatory expert, and advisor to governments on energy and environmental policy.
REC or Rec is a shortening of Recording, the process of capturing data onto a storage medium.
In environmental policy, white certificates are documents certifying that a certain reduction of energy consumption has been attained. In most applications, the white certificates are tradable and combined with an obligation to achieve a certain target of energy savings. Under such a system, producers, suppliers or distributors of electricity, gas and oil are required to undertake energy efficiency measures for the final user that are consistent with a pre-defined percentage of their annual energy deliverance. If energy producers do not meet the mandated target for energy consumption they are required to pay a penalty. The white certificates are given to the producers whenever an amount of energy is saved whereupon the producer can use the certificate for their own target compliance or can be sold to (other) parties who cannot meet their targets. Quite analogous to the closely related concept of emissions trading, the tradability in theory guarantees that the overall energy saving is achieved at least cost, while the certificates guarantee that the overall energy saving target is achieved.
The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006. It was led by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, then headed by Amber Rudd. The current focus of policy are on reforming the electricity market, rolling out smart meters and improving the energy efficiency of the UK building stock through the Green Deal.
Although the European Union has legislated in the area of energy policy for many years, the concept of introducing a mandatory and comprehensive European Union energy policy was only approved at the meeting of the informal European Council on 27 October 2005 at Hampton Court. The EU Treaty of Lisbon of 2007 legally includes solidarity in matters of energy supply and changes to the energy policy within the EU. Prior to the Treaty of Lisbon, EU energy legislation has been based on the EU authority in the area of the common market and environment. However, in practice many policy competencies in relation to energy remain at national member state level, and progress in policy at European level requires voluntary cooperation by members states.
A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. The federal RPS is called the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES).
Energy Saving Trust (EST) is a British organization devoted to promoting energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the sustainable use of energy, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and helping to prevent man-made climate change. It was founded in the United Kingdom as a government-sponsored initiative in 1992, following the global Earth Summit.
Green electricity in the United Kingdom. There are a number of suppliers offering green electricity in the United Kingdom. In theory these types of tariffs help to lower carbon dioxide emissions by increasing consumer demand for green electricity and encouraging more renewable energy plant to be built. Since Ofgem's 2014 regulations there are now set criteria defining what can be classified as a green source product. As well as holding sufficient guarantee of origin certificates to cover the electricity sold to consumers, suppliers are also required to show additionality by contributing to wider environmental and low carbon funds.
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.
The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) was founded in 2000 by the European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations. EREC is located in the Renewable Energy House in Brussels, a monument protected building with 100% renewable energy supply for heating and cooling.
Renewable energy law is a particular kind of energy law, and relates primarily to the transactional legal and policy issues that surround the development, implementation, and commercialization of renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind, geothermal and tidal. Renewable energy, (RE) law also relates to the land use, siting, and finance issues encountered by developers of renewable energy projects.
Energy markets are commodity markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy. Typically energy development is the result of a government creating an energy policy that encourages the development of an energy industry in a competitive manner.
The European Energy Certificate System (EECS) is a commercially funded, integrated European framework for issuing, holding, transferring and otherwise processing electronic records. It was developed by the Association of Issuing Bodies to provide a properly regulated platform for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin, as proposed by the Renewables Directive which supports Directive 2009/72/EC. EECS builds upon the concept proposed by the Basic Commitment of the Renewable Energy Certificate System (RECS) and now supports all types of electricity, regardless of source or production technology.
The Renewable Energy Certificate System (RECS) was a voluntary system for international trade in renewable energy certificates that was created by RECS International to stimulate international development of renewable energy. It advocated the use of a standard energy certificate to provide evidence of the production of a quantity of renewable energy, and provided a methodology which enables renewable energy trade, enabling the creation of a market for renewable energy and so promoting the development of new renewable energy capacity in Europe.
ECA is the main trade association for companies involved in electrotechnical and other technical engineering projects in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. In 2016, it had some 2800 registered members - companies who collectively employed around 100,000 UK staff and operatives and generated annual revenues of over £6 billion. ECA also has associate categories open to industry manufacturers, distributors, educators, clients and specifiers who wish to engage and collaborate with members.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is the name given to advanced aviation biofuel types used in jet aircraft and certified as being sustainable by a reputable independent third-party, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). This certification is in addition to the safety and performance certification, issued by global standards body ASTM International, that all jet fuel is required to meet in order to be approved for use in regular passenger flights.
