How the pilot works in detail
Who is involved
There are four groups that are involved in the pilot process.
NSW Government is the Program Manager for the GreenPower Program and this pilot. The Program Manager assesses applications, verifies production data and conducts audits.
Renewable gas producers (Producers) operate accredited renewable gas projects, and can create, sell and transfer Renewable Gas Guarantee of Origin (RGGO) certificates.
Certificate traders or gas retailers (Traders) are registered participants who can purchase, sell, transfer and retire renewable gas certificates on behalf of end-use gas customers.
Gas customers are businesses within Australia that use fossil natural gas and want to purchase RGGOs to wholly or partly match their fossil natural gas use with renewable gas that is added to gas networks by Producers on their behalf.
Certificate creation
To create certificates, a Producer sends evidence of gas production and supporting documents to the Program Manager, such as about the feedstock used and renewable electricity purchases. The Producer then makes a production declaration in the certificate registry that covers either a monthly or quarterly period.
GreenPower verifies each production declaration by reviewing the evidence provided by the Producer. If approved, certificates are created in the Producer’s registry account. The Producer is then able to transfer certificates to Traders.
Certificate trading
The first step in certificate trading is a purchase agreement between the Producer and Trader. Contracts between Producers and Traders for purchase of certificates are not reviewed by the GreenPower Program and certificate pricing is determined by contracting parties.
To transfer certificates, a Producer submits a transfer request in the certificate registry. This request is sent to the chosen Trader, who can accept or reject the transfer.
If the Trader accepts the request, the certificates appear in their account and are removed from the Producer’s account.
Transfers between two Traders operate the same way.
Certificate retirement
Traders that have certificates in their account can retire these on behalf of end-use gas customers (businesses). This is done in the form of a bulk retirement declaration in the certificate registry. The declaration lists the RGGO reference numbers and other data about the certificates. The declaration process asks who the end-use customer of the certificates is, and this customer will be listed on the declaration.
It is critical that Traders double-check the declaration information before submitting because it cannot be changed later. There are no exceptions to this.
Gas customer claims about renewable gas
Commercial and industrial gas consumers can choose to buy RGGOs. This allows gas grid connected customers to claim their gas use has been matched with GreenPower accredited low-emissions renewable gas that was added to gas networks on their behalf. For behind-the-meter or off-grid customers that have been directly supplied renewable gas coupled with the RGGOs, they can claim that they are using Greenpower accredited low-emissions renewable gas, reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Customers can make this claim after RGGOs have been retired by a Trader on their behalf. As evidence, the Trader will provide to the customer with a retirement declaration, which shows the name of the customer who is the end-user of the certificates.
Businesses that want to purchase RGGOs can directly contact producers and traders. Information on participating Producers, their projects, and Traders will be published shortly.