Clarification of the effective date of the verification of guarantees of origin by certification bodies

The entry into force of on-site verification at power plants applying for inclusion in guarantee of origin (GO) certificates has been clarified. In the future, verification shall be valid from the issue date of a verification certificate. In other words, verification is valid as of the signature date of the verification certificate.

There are several methods of verifying GOs. The clarification of the entry into force of verification for power plants applies to the production methods of energy production plants and their energy sources when these are verified by a certification body approved by the Energy Authority. 

According to the guidelines that the Energy Authority has provided to Fingrid, the Act on Guarantees of Origin for Energy should be interpreted as meaning that the verification is valid as of the signature date of the verification certificate. Therefore, GO certificates can be issued for energy produced on or after the verification certificate’s signature date. The Energy Authority’s policy means that it is no longer possible for a certification body to provide retrospective verification. Other methods of verifying GOs, such as the criteria for EECS verification, will not change.

In the future, Fingrid will apply the Energy Authority’s policy and issue GO certificates from the signature date of the verification certificate, irrespective of whether the power plant fulfilled all the requirements before that date.

Operating in line with the Energy Authority’s guidelines may prevent GOs for electricity from being linked to power purchase agreements when a power plant begins producing electricity (known as PPAs). In Fingrid’s view, the legislation should be amended to eliminate the ambiguity in this regard.

We ask our customers to consider the Energy Authority’s guidelines when registering power plants in Finextra’s register of GOs for electricity.

Further information:

Kirsi Salmivaara, Fingrid Oyj, tel. +358 30 395 5227
Email addresses are in the form firstname.lastname@fingrid.fi

Further information on registering a power plant in the register of GOs for electricity > 

Further information on the Energy Authority’s guidelines for certification bodies >

Glossary:

Guarantee of origin (GO) certificates for electricity verify that electricity has been produced from renewable energy sources, nuclear power or high-efficiency cogeneration. Electricity suppliers, electricity producers and industries consuming electricity must verify the electricity certificate in the register of GOs for electricity.

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): A long-term power purchase agreement typically signed by a large electricity user to acquire a certain amount of electricity from an electricity producer for a contractual price over a period of, for example, 10 years.