I believe that everyone will also have a lot of questions when they come into contact with green electricity: is green electricity different from green certificates, what is the difference between domestic green certificates and foreign green certificates, and why do enterprises buy green certificates? Today's article will take you to learn Xi related concepts and differences between these three.
1. Concept and development status
1.Green electricity (corresponding to the green electricity market).
Concept: The use of specific power generation equipment such as wind turbines and solar photovoltaic cells to convert renewable energy such as wind energy and solar energy into electricity, the electricity generated in this way does not produce or rarely produces environmentally harmful emissions (such as nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, etc.) in the process of power generation, and does not need to consume fossil fuels, saving limited resource reserves, compared with conventional thermal power generation - that is, by burning coal, oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels to obtain electricity, Electricity from renewable sources is more conducive to environmental protection and sustainable development, so it is called green electricity.
Enterprises that consume green electricity are basically to fulfill their responsibility to reduce emissions and achieve green transformation; The purpose of purchasing green certificates is to establish a green brand image and enhance the competitiveness of products and services.
Development History:
In September 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration recently officially replied to the State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid Corporation to promote the pilot work of green power trading. Green electricity appeared four years later than green certificates.
Characteristics of green electricity consumption:
Green electricity trading adopts the "integration of certificates and electricity" method (the unification of the physical attributes of green electricity and the green environmental attributes), and the producers (new energy enterprises) of green power and consumers (electricity consumption enterprises, electricity sales companies, etc., including power grid companies**) directly sign transaction contracts, realizing the closed-loop of the whole process of green electricity production, transmission and consumption.
Users can obtain the environmental rights and interests of green electricity while using electric energy, and obtain authoritative and credible green electricity consumption certificates. Green electricity trading can better meet the demand of enterprises for green power consumption, and can effectively improve the level of green electricity consumption, so as to promote the realization of the "dual carbon" goal.
In addition, through blockchain technology, the green electricity consumption certificate traces and certifies the green attributes of each kilowatt-hour of electric energy, realizes the on-chain records of the production, trading, transmission, consumption, settlement and other links of green electricity, and generates the only blockchain green electricity consumption certificate that meets the transaction and review specifications.
Development prospects:
In recent years, more and more domestic and foreign companies have an urgent need to buy green electricity, and multinational companies such as BMW and BASF AG have put forward the goal of achieving 100% green electricity production in the next ten years. Traditional industrial enterprises such as Shougang are looking forward to using green electricity production to promote transformation and upgrading; Many export-oriented enterprises in China also hope to use green electricity production to enhance the international competitiveness of their products.
2.Green Certificate-GEC (corresponding to the Green Electricity Certificate Market).
Concept: Green certificate refers to the renewable energy green power certificate, which is the "electronic ID card" of renewable energy green power, and is an electronic certificate with a unique identification issued to the green electricity issued by renewable energy power generation projects.
Development History:
In 2017, China piloted the issuance of green certificates and voluntary subscription systems, and the state issued green certificates to the on-grid electricity of subsidized onshore wind power and centralized photovoltaic power generation projects, making it clear that users can purchase green certificates as a certificate for consuming green electricity. (Only the above-mentioned onshore wind power and centralized photovoltaic power generation projects can apply for green certificates, and other offshore wind power and distributed photovoltaic power cannot apply.) ）
In August 2023, the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued the Notice on Doing a Good Job in Achieving Full Coverage of Renewable Energy Green Electricity Certificates and Promoting Renewable Energy Electricity Consumption, clarifying the basic role of green certificates in supporting green power trading, identifying green electricity consumption, and accounting for renewable electricity consumption, while promoting the connection between green certificates and the domestic carbon market, international green consumption and carbon emission reduction systems.
The latest notice also expands the scope of green certificates that can be applied for, achieving full coverage of green certificate issuance.
Trading Platforms:
Relying on the China Green Power Certificate Trading Platform, Beijing Electric Power Trading Center, and Guangzhou Electric Power Trading Center to carry out green certificate trading. Expand to other nationally recognized trading platforms in due course.
Number of transactions:
At this stage, tradable green certificates can only be traded once.
Trading Method:
Green certificate trading includes three methods: bilateral negotiation, listing and centralized bidding.
Green certificate features:
The green power certificate is not traceable, and the user only buys the green environmental attributes of green electricity, and does not really use green electricity, so it cannot realize the "integration of certificate and electricity".
The new notice mentions that the green certificate will be used as the only certificate for the certification of green electricity consumption and green electricity attribute identification of power users, and the green electricity consumption certification will be carried out through the green certificate within two years, and the green power consumption certification standards, systems and labeling systems based on the green certificate will be established. In the previous green certificate market, the environmental attributes and the physical attributes of electricity were not unified.
Due to the impact of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), most of China's renewable energy can only apply for the issuance of domestic green certificates, and of course, a small number of renewable energy power have applied for foreign green certificates I-REC.
Note: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) reflect each country's efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
3.International Green Certificate
What are the international green certificates:
The mainstream green certificates include the international green certificate i-REC, the European green certificate GO, the US green certificate NAR TIGR, and the Australian green certificate LGC. Except for i-REC, which is a global power environmental attribute tracking system, the rest mainly serve the local market.
i-rec
i-REC is an International Renewable Energy Certificate ("International Green Certificate")."International Renewable Enercy Certificate, which is an international general green certificate issued by the non-profit I-REC Standard (i-REC Standard), a non-profit organization headquartered in the Netherlands, is one of the green certificates with the highest target recognition because the certificate is accepted and recognized by the carbon disclosure organization E100. It is purchased by the world's leading companies to offset their own non-green electricity consumption emissions. One-rec is equivalent to one megawatt hour of electricity. So far, a number of domestic renewable energy companies have successfully obtained i-REC issuance and benefited from the transaction.
go
The EU** Guarantees of Origins (GO) was introduced by the EU's first renewable energy directive (2009 28 EC) in 2009 and officially implemented within the EU in 2012. So far, it has been recognized by EU member states, Norway and Switzerland.
For every megawatt-hour of electricity generated, a ** certificate of guarantee can be issued. All GOs must include information about each generation facility, including: the origin of the energy, whether it has received investment support, whether it is operating under a state subsidy scheme, the date and country of certificate issuance, and the date the facility was commissioned. Each Certificate of Sponsorship has a unique identification number. GO may also contain further information, such as the renewable energy attributes of the electricity.
apx tigrs
Headquartered in the United States, APX has created a first-class platform that can be used for green certificate registration, traceability and trading, and the green certificate developed by the platform is divided into two types: the green certificate in North America is called NAR (North American Renewables Registry), and the green certificate outside North America is called TIGRS (Tradable Instrument for Global Renewables).
The Global Renewable Energy Trading Facility (APX TIGRS), like the I-REC mentioned above, is an international green certificate that can be issued and traded worldwide (except North America). One tigrs is equivalent to one megawatt hour of electricity.
4.Comparison of major domestic and international green certificates:
2. The application of green electricity and green certificates
1.Carbon Emission Offset Rules for Green Electricity:
1.1 Domestic carbon market:
The latest notice clarifies that the corresponding emissions of non-fossil energy electricity in both cases are calculated as zero (see the chart below). For green electricity purchased through marketization, the average carbon emission factor of the national grid in 2022 is 05703 TCO2 MWh to calculate emissions, and a green electricity consumption certificate is also required.
1.2 Beijing Carbon Market:
The Beijing carbon market clearly stipulates that green electricity purchased and used by key emitting enterprises can be counted as zero carbon emissions, and green certificates are not allowed for the time being.
*: Beijing Bureau of Ecology and Environmental Protection.
1.3 EU CBAM:
The EU's CBAM Act specifies that imported goods are required to declare their indirect emissions from electricity during the transition period. The bill specifies that electricity purchased through the PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) can be calculated based on actual emission factors, and does not mention any offsetting of green certificates.
Any form of green certificate has not been recognized by CBAM, and the EU pays more attention to whether users actually use green electricity.
CBAM (European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Act).
Comparison of China's green power trading with foreign PPA transactions.
In Europe, physical power purchase agreements require a real physical connection between buyers and sellers, while domestic power generation companies need to be connected to the grid and delivered by power supply companies to users, especially since the power delivery curves are different.
2.Purpose of Purchasing Green Certificates:
2.1 Export-oriented enterprises:
For export companies that join international initiatives such as RE100, in addition to committing to 100% clean energy themselves, they will further require the best merchants on the chain to meet this requirement.
Since RE100 members and their suppliers are required to meet the 100% green electricity requirement through RE100 certification, if an enterprise wants to meet this requirement by purchasing green certificates, it needs to consider whether such green certificates are RE100 certified. As more and more companies with global influence join RE100, RE100's green certificate recognition standards are recognized around the worldThe degree of degree also increases.
2.2 Domestic enterprises
(1) Responsibility for renewable energy consumption:
According to the renewable energy quota system, if an enterprise completes its responsibility for renewable energy consumption through the purchase of green certificates, it will realize the green transformation of the enterprise.
(2) Enhance the green and low-carbon image of the enterprise:
Driven by global low-carbon policies and ESG, green, low-carbon and environmental protection have become the main focus of corporate external publicity, and the practice of green, low-carbon and environmental protection requirements is conducive to attracting investors and consumers who attach importance to green and low-carbon factors.
(3) Personal practice of low-carbon life:
Individuals can reduce and offset their carbon emissions through the purchase of green certificates, and guide the public's concept of low-carbon life.
*: Big Orange View Carbon.