Certificates

Overview biomethane certificate system

Biomethane certificates are issued by the registry operator on a monthly basis. The data on the energy amounts from biomethane, which was injected into the Austrian gas grid is based on the metering data provided by grid operators to the Austrian balancing group system. The automation-supported, monthly issuing of biomethane certificates is based on the Austrian balancing group system.

The biomethane certificates solely document energy amounts from renewable sources (biomethane) since the energy amounts of fossil additives are deducted based on information delivered by producers and verified by auditors. At the point in time, when certificates have been issued, they are available on the respective accounts of the biomethane producers and these certificates are tradable immediately. It is also possible to transfer partial energy amounts of the original certificate (on kWh or MWh basis) by splitting a specific energy amount to create a daughter certificate.

After the issuance of certificates, they can be verified by external auditors and can be provided with auditor annotations and audit reports.

Clearing calendar for certificates

For the relevant dates regarding submission deadlines for additives, certificate issuance and tradability of certificates, the Biomethan Register Austria provides the Clearing calendar for certificates.

National subsidy for power generation plants using biomethane (FiT, Ökostromeinspeisetarif)

The generation of electricity from biomethane fed into the natural gas grid is subsidised by the Green Power Settlement Agency (Ökostromabwicklungsstelle, OeMAG) under the conditions of the ÖSG 2012 (Green Power Act) and General Conditions of the Green Power Settlement Agency (AB-ÖKO). The legislative text states: “For this purpose, the balancing group coordinator pursuant to the Gas Economy Act 2011 (Gaswirtschaftsgesetz, GWG) shall issue monthly confirmations with a unique identification code on the biomethane quantities injected into the gas grid (“biomethane certificates”) for the green electricity settlement agent."

The issued biomethane certificates provide the basis for green electricity subsidies (FiT) based on biomethane transported via the grid. The applicant for FiT has to open an account for the biomethane electrification plant (e.g. CHP unit). Additional master data are registered for such an electrification plant account.

In order to claim the green electricity feed-in tariff, biomethane certificates must be transferred from the biomethane electrification plant account to the "OeMAG-Account" of the Green PowerSettlement Agency (Ökostromabwicklungsstelle, OeMAG). Read more

To ensure reliable documentation, high value is placed on quality and security and dedicated audits have to be performed.