In addition to electricity, the guarantee of origin system will be extended to gas and hydrogen as well as heat and cooling. The Act on Guarantees of Origin for Energy entered into force on 3 December 2021. In accordance with the Act, Gasgrid Finland is the Issuing Body in Finland and is authorised to issue guarantees of origin for gas and hydrogen, and the register of guarantees of origin will be introduced on 1 April 2022.
Guarantees of origin under the new Act can be applied for energy produced after the entry into force of the Act. The Act in Finnish and Swedish can be found here.
The guarantee of origin for energy refers to an electronic document which serves as evidence to the end user that a certain proportion or quantity of energy has been produced using renewable sources. Guarantees of origin help the user to ensure that the energy used has been produced from renewable energy sources. In practice, biogas, for example, cannot be marketed or sold without a guarantee of origin. Transfers of guarantees of origin between EU countries will also be possible in the future and, for example, biogas produced in Germany can be purchased in Finland and biogas produced in Finland can be purchased in Germany.
A quantity of guarantees of origin corresponding to the production volume is issued for energy from renewable energy sources and, accordingly, guarantees of origin are used by cancelling said amount of guarantees of origin issued. Gas guarantees of origin are issued for gases and hydrogen produced in Finland from renewable energy sources.
The guarantee of origin system is open to producers of gas and hydrogen from renewable energy sources, gas users and market participants, regardless of whether the gas is injected into the transmission or distribution network or produced or used outside the natural gas network (so-called offgrid production).
The register of guarantees of origin is joined by registration as an account holder. Owners of production devices or their duly authorised registrants may register a production device in the register. The aim is to open registration and the conclusion of accession agreements in March 2022.
The processing of guarantees of origin will begin on 1 April 2022 when the register of guarantees of origin is introduced. For the period between 3 December 2021 and 31 March 2022, guarantees of origin will be granted retrospectively.
The rules, service prices and instructions as well as agreement documents will be published on Gasgrid Finland’s website in early 2022.
Further information: Heli Haapea, Service Manager, heli.haapea@gasgrid.fi, tel. +358 40 352 7643. Regular updates also on Gasgrid Finland’s website: Guarantees of origin.