Obligation, Commitment, Motivation
Legal obligation for the biomethane certification and registry system
The Austrian balancing group coordinator AGCS Gas Clearing and Settlement AG takes responsibility for the monthly issuing of biomethane certificates with unique identification with the amendment of the Austrian Renewable Electricity Act (Ökostromgesetz 2012). The original legal text of § 21 (1) 2012 translates as follows: “The balancing group coordinator pursuant to the Gas Economy Law [GWG, Gaswirtschaftsgesetz 2011] has to issue proofs of injected biogas [biomethane] including a unique identification for and on costs of the Austrian Green Power Settlement Agency [OeMAG Abwicklungsstelle für Ökostrom AG].”
Motivation for a secure and transparent documentation system for renewable gases
Biomethane is an allrounder in the energy sector. Its production technology is well established and integrated, and the renewable gas product may be used for different application purposes (electricity, heating & cooling, combustion, and transport fuel). Its application can substitute fossil fuels and thus help to significantly reduce GHG emissions to reach our climate targets. The FiT for renewable power has remained the main business case for biogas and biomethane-electrification plants. There are around 300 biogas and 15 biomethane plants in Austria.
Biomethane injected into the grid may be withdrawn at any other point of the distribution grid to be used for different application purposes, in Austria especially for electrification. The gas infrastructure allows a local decoupling of injection and withdrawal and makes the renewable gas produced accessible to all consumers. Together with all gas movements, renewable gases are an integral part of the balancing group model and are thus documented in the clearing system of the balancing group coordinator.
The generation of renewable power from biomethane transported via the Austrian gas grid is subsidised by the Renewable Power Clearing Agency (OeMAG Abwicklungsstelle für Ökostrom AG), provided that certain quality criteria (§ 21 ÖSG 2012, Renewable Power Act) are fulfilled. The basis for the eligibility of susidising renewable power from biomethane transported via the gas grid are the biomethane certificates issued by the balancing group coordinator.
The Austrian balancing group system provides the necessary framework for the Biomethan Register Austria. The datasets are hourly metering values of biomethane injection from each individual biomethane plant. The Biomethan Register Austria may cover both Austrian market areas and distribution grids as it has dedicated data interfaces to both balancing group coordinators AGCS (market area east) and A&B (market area west). To fulfil the legal requirement of setting up a certification and registry system as basis for the subsidy roll-out and to satisfy the needs of the biomethane sector, AGCS decided to develop a flexible, module-based, and future-proof IT-system. Its terms and conditions enable secure and simple business processes which can easily be extended for future demands. The Biomethan Register Austria has been in operation since July 2012 and is well-established and supported by market participants.
Initiatives to establish a secure and transparent biomethane market
The use of biomethane as sustainable transport fuel provides an enormous potential for GHG emission mitigation. The Austrian Fuel Regulation (KVO, Kraftstoffverordnung 2012) mandated the Austrian Environmental Agency (UBA, Umweltbundesamt GmbH) to operate the national biofuels registry and perform the documentation of the biofuels quota. The biofuels registry elNa (electronic Proof of Sustainability, elektronischer Nachhaltigkeitsnachweis) was thus established. To prevent any risk of double counting of production volumes (energy amounts), the operators of the elNa and the Biomethan Register Austria (UBA and AGCS, respectively) have engaged into a cooperation agreement for information exchange concerning the use of biomethane in the sense of the Fuel Regulation. Read more on the cooperation agreement.
For the prevention of double-counting of biomethane for the application purpose of gas consumer disclosure according to § 130 of the Gas Economy Law, AGCS is taking the necessary organisational and technical precautions. The Biomethan Register Austria has implemented an interface to transfer production and injection data of biomethane to the database for Guarantees of Origin operated by E-Control.
The interest of Austrian producers to market biomethane internationally is increasing as well as the demand to import biomethane from other European countries. In 2016, the cooperation agreement with the Biogas Register Germany, operated by the German Energy Agency (dena, Deutsche Energie Agentur), was implemented, which laid down the cornerstone for cross-border transactions and a Europe-wide market. AGCS holds a seat on the executive board of ERGaR, the European Renewable Gas Registry, and can thus actively work on the European market design.